


Far Longer Than Forever

by DisneyGeekWriter



Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Magic, Romance, Swan Princess AU, fairy tale
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2017-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-26 22:52:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6258973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisneyGeekWriter/pseuds/DisneyGeekWriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annika Celia, Anna to her most trusted companions, the crown princess of Arendelle has vanished. She was last seen on the night of her engagement announcement to Lord Hans Westergaard, youngest son of the noble family of the Southern Isles. A young ferret is seen resting on the shoulders of Good King Soren, the grief of the loss of his daughter, sending him into a reclusive state, leaving the rule of Arendelle to Lord Westergaard. Not believing the princess to be lost, Kristoff, the scarred blacksmith who held the heart of the young princess, refuses to give up the search for her. One night at the lake where Kristoff and Anna first met as children, the young ferret is transformed to Princess Anna. Can Kristoff break the spell and bring Anna back to her rightful place?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude: The Mountain Lake

## Far Longer Than Forever ~ Prelude: The Mountain Lake

A/N: This is my first time diving into a more fairy tale, adventure story! I hope everyone likes it. This is a take on Swan Lake/Swan Princess but with a Kristanna twist.

Summary: Anna, the crown princess of Arendelle has vanished. She was last seen on the night of her engagement announcement to Lord Hans Westergaard, youngest son of the noble family of the Southern Isles. A young sable is seen resting on the shoulders of Good King Soren, the grief of the loss of his daughter, sending him into a reclusive state, leaving the rule of Arendelle to Lord Westergaard. Not believing the princess to be lost, Kristoff, the scarred blacksmith who held the heart of the young princess, refuses to give up the search for her. One night at the lake where Kristoff and Anna first met as children, the young sable is transformed to Princess Anna. Can Kristoff break the spell and bring Anna back to her rightful place? 

* * *

**Far Longer Than Forever**

**Prelude: The Mountain Lake**

Nestled into the mountainside, high in the Northlands, there was the small kingdom of Arendelle. Ruled by grace, courage and kindness, Arendelle was a happy and prosperous place. The green forests met the sea and the high mountains protected the hamlet from harm. Good King Soren was beloved by his people and more so by his young daughter, Anna. The Princess Anna was a bright, beautiful child and loved her father more than anyone else in her world. She was all he had. Her mother had passed during Anna’s birth. Good King Soren doted upon his child, giving her everything she could ever want. She knew one day she would be queen of her land and she took it as seriously as a ten year old princess could. She stared out at the mountains, longing for the opportunity to explore them and lose herself in them. The mountains sang to her, songs that only she could understand. She would spend hours staring at the mountains, wondering about the people who lived there. What were they like? Could they hear the songs too?

The young princess, while having everything she could ever ask for, was a lonely child. Her father was often away on royal duties and that left her alone with no one but her governess Gerda for company. Many of the castle servants had children of their own that lived in the castle but were not permitted to play with the princess. Anna longed for a friend to go sledding with, to help her launch her assault on the castle sentries. But that was not the life that fate had chosen for Annika Celia, Crown Princess of Arendelle.

Fresh fallen snow covered Arendelle and Anna couldn’t wait to get out into the courtyard and play. Her favorite wintertime game was target practice. She would create a mountain of snowballs and one by one take down each of the sentries along the turrets of the castle. Some fought back while others allowed themselves to be pelted by the tiny princess, fearing treason if they returned the princess’s fire. Normally that’s what she would be doing. But on that day, she wanted to explore the mountain and go ice skating. The blacksmith had delivered her skates the evening before and she was so eager to try them out. She packed a small canvas sack with some bread, a chunk of cheese, some fruit and a skein of water along with her skates. She dressed herself, something she was very accustomed to doing. She put on her warmed woolen dress and underclothes, found her hat, mittens and cape and her tall boots. She poked her head out of her bedroom door, checking for anyone who would gladly snitch on the princess for her own good. Walking quickly she darted down the servants stairs and into the kitchens.

Keeping low she went out a servant’s gate and through the town and up into her favorite place, the mountains of Arendelle. Anna loved the mountains. She found them to be mysterious and beautiful. Her governess Gerda had come from the mountains and shared all sorts of tales of the magic that lived in the glowing crystals that could be found there. She gave Anna a small purple crystal as a gift on her last birthday. Garda said that the purple stone would always protect her. Anna kept the purple stone in her mitten, gripping it tight as she climbed higher into the mountains. She came upon a small clearing of trees and a lake, completely covered in ice. The trees formed a perfect circle and the darkening sky was beginning to light up with stars. The climb to this part of the mountain had taken longer than she had thought. Anna knew she would have to leave soon. The days were so short here in the Northlands. She tossed a few pebbles onto the ice, checking for breaking pieces so she could avoid them. She sat on a fallen log and put on her skates. She skated out onto the ice and lost track of the time and place, loving the cool mountain air and crisp fresh wind in her hair.

* * *

Trudging through the knee deep mountain snow was fourteen year old apprentice Kristoff Bjorgman and his master Oaken, the village blacksmith for the North Mountain clan. They had been in Arendelle collecting supplies and iron ore from the miners so they could fashion tools for the poor mountain farmers. The winter had come too early for them and they had lost their crops. The elders, while not wanting to receive charity from the kingdom, knew that their elderly and children would not last the winter without help. They had sent Master Oaken to the city to seek an audience with Good King Soren, to beg his assistance. Oaken was the best spoken of villagers and hoped to use his voice to bring an end to the suffering of his people. Sadly, his majesty was not taking audiences that day and they had to turn back before the weather turned on them. 

Kristoff had been orphaned when his parents had been trapped in the high mountain pass avalanche, coming back from a journey to retrieve herbs and roots from the high mountains to make into medicines. His mother Bulda had been a medicine woman, a task passed down from mother to child. Had she lived, that would have been Kristoff’s occupation. His father Pabbie, a miner and expert climber taught the young boy everything he knew about the mountains. Kristoff missed them terribly. It was nearly three years since he lost them. As an orphan, Kristoff was lucky that Master Oaken had taken him under his wing. Most orphaned mountain boys were destined to the mines or the docks to become sailors for the crown. Becoming an apprentice in a field such as blacksmithery would give Kristoff the chance to become more than just a mountain orphan.

They came to the clearing and heard the joyous laughter of a girl. Kristoff peered through the trees to see a girl of about ten skating on the ice. She wore a black and blue dress and a burgundy cape, far too nice to be from the mountains. He didn’t think too much of it until he heard the cracking of the ice. No. She was alone. He ran down the incline, just in time to see the small girl slip under the breaking ice.

“Master Oaken! A child, a girl, has fallen through the ice!” Kristoff shouted. He ran to the sled and took out a length of rope tying it to the tree and then around himself. Stepping carefully onto the ice he made his way to the hole where the girl had fallen through. He had to be very cautious of where he stepped. He outweighed the child and could easily break through the ice if he wasn’t careful. “Try to grab the edge of the ice!” he shouted to the child. “I’m coming for you. But you have to try and pull yourself out of the water.”

Anna didn’t expect the ice to be so thin at the center of the lake. Usually that’s where the ice was the thickest. She didn’t hear the cracking of the ice until it was too late. The ice slipped out from under her and she felt the stabbing cold of the mountain lake. Her heavy woolen clothes were pulling her downwards. She fought the clasp on her cloak letting the sink to the depths of the lake. She clawed at the surface of the water, breaking through and screaming for help before the weight of the blades on her boots threatened to take her down to the depths again. She was so cold. Colder than she had ever been in her life. Muffled above her she heard someone calling to her. She fought to the surface again and saw a boy walking carefully out onto the ice.

“Help me,” her voice called out, chattering teeth. “Help me.”

Kristoff slid across the ice to the hole the girl was in and grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her out of the water. He cradled the small girl in his arms and raced quickly back to the shed. The little girl was turning blue in his arms. He laid her on the bench of the sled and began to remove the heavy wet clothes from her body. “Who are you?” Kristoff asked her. “Where can we take you?”

“A-a-ann-anna,” she chattered, violently shivering now. “So cold. Daddy…”  
“This is the Princess. The Princess Anna. The gods have seen fit to bless us this day, my boy,” Oaken said, bowing his head. “Leave the firewood and the ore. We’ll come back for them. We must get this child safe to her father.”

Kristoff safely but quickly stashed their supplies and joined his master in the sled. Oaken urged their caribou onward, down into the valley of the kingdom of Arendelle. As Oaken drove, Kristoff removed as much of the wet clothing from the princess as was acceptable. He held her small frame to his body, warming her. The little princess was shivering and her teeth chattered. Kristoff held her close to him, wrapping the wolf pelt tighter around her.   
“Hang on Princess. I’ve got you.”

* * *

It hadn’t taken long for the castle staff to notice that the young princess had disappeared. Good King Soren knew his child so well that he ordered his guards to the mountains to search for the princess. King Soren understood his child’s desire to become more than just the heir to the throne. His own crown thrust upon him when he was only a little older than she. He stared up at the mountains, praying to the gods that his child was safe and on her way home. 

Master Oaken and Kristoff came to the edge of the forest, where the trees met the sea. They saw the garrison of palace guards in front of them and barely slowed to a stop. 

“Halt by order of the King!” a captian yelled to Oaken, spears and swords at the ready.

“We have the Princess Anna!” Oaken shouted back. “The child has fallen through the ice of a mountain lake. We must get her to warmth.”

“We shall ride with you to the palace!” The captain shouted orders to his men who made way for the sled to pass. A trumpet was sounded and thundering of hooves echoed in the stillness of the coming night. Oaken and his old caribou rode through the town with the king’s men on every side of him. A young officer spurred his horse forward racing ahead of the party to alert the castle of the emergency.

“Hold on little one,” Kristoff whispered into the shivering princess’s ear. “I’ve got you. Nothing will happen to you as long as I’ve got you.”

“I will never forget you,” Anna said, weakly, staring into Kristoff’s brown eyes. “Never. I promise.”

The gates opened and Oaken’s sled skidded to a stop. A slew of ladies rushed to the sled and took the young princess into their arms, carrying her inside where a waiting tub of warm water was waiting to warm the young princess. On the steps of the great stone building, good King Soren appeared, dressed in dark gray woolen suit. Kristoff and Oaken climbed out of the sled and knelt before their king.

“You have saved my only child,” King Soren said, placing his hand over his heart. “There is no reward great enough to bestow upon you both. Please give me your names so that I may bless you.”

“I am Oaken, my good king,” Oaken said with his bowed. “I am simple blacksmith of the North Mountain Clan. My apprentice Kristoff Bjorgman. The lad risked his own life to save the young princess from the ice. I ask for nothing myself good king. But the lad has learned all he can from me. Please my king, find him a good master to learn from. He is a strong lad, willing to work hard.”

Kristoff kept his head low. He was an orphan and orphans didn’t have audiences with the king. He was lucky to have gotten the apprenticeship with Oaken and he worked harder and longer than any other young man his age. An apprenticeship with the court blacksmith was something he would have only dreamed of. And now a chance rescue of the princess gave him all the courage to want more for his life. He listened as Oaken spoke to the king about the troubles that had befallen the people of the North Mountain. He knew that he would be forever haunted by the icy cold face of the young princess.


	2. Ten Years Later...

**Far Longer Than Forever**

**Chapter 2: Ten Years Later…**

_Ten Years Later…_

Princess Annika Celia, called that only by her dear father, Anna to her most trusted companions, grew into a kind and beautiful young woman. She was beloved by the people of her country. They would line the streets, waving and shouting to her, all vying for her attention. The princess adored her people, from the high born nobles who served her father to the smallest orphan and oldest widow. The people dearest to her heart though, were those of the North Mountain Clan. Their elder, Master Strom Oaken and his former apprentice Kristoff Bjorgman had saved her life when she fell through thin ice on a mountain lake. Anna did her best to make sure that the North Mountain Clan was always cared for. 

King Soren was an expert diplomat and strived to have the best for his people. Anna’s focus was on her people. She created programs for her people to thrive. She made sure that the orphans’ home was built to withstand and that the sisters of the order had everything they needed to care for the children. She made sure that both boys and girls were educated and given the same opportunities. She worked with the trade guilds to create open communication between the merchants and their suppliers. She worked for equality among her people and would do anything within her power as the heir of Arendelle to make her people succeed. Her cause was social and she would argue her point to every snobby dignitary who looked down on her.

Anna sat at her desk by the window in her room overlooking the harbor and the great ships her programs helped to build. In front of her were declarations of intent, snobby nobles writing to hope to claim the heart of the young princess. Most went unanswered and left in a pile on her desk. On occasion there would be a rough sheet of parchment come into the pile. The paper smelling of soot and sulfur. The scrawling handwriting hard to read at times but Anna cherished them. They were from Kristoff, the blacksmith, the only man she would ever love. She decided that many years ago when she was but a young girl. What began as a hopeless childhood crush blossomed and grew into a love that she would fight to keep. It had been too long since she had gotten to see him as her love and not as the palace blacksmith. Reaching for a blank sheet of parchment and her pen she quickly wrote him a note. 

_My dearest Kristoff,_

_How I long to see you. It has been too long since our last meeting. If you can manage it, please meet me at our place at nine. I love you._

_Yours always,_

_Anna_

Anna entrusted her small letter to her young lady’s maid Caroline, one she knew she could trust to keep her secret. She knew it would take the young girl time to get from the castle and back with his response. She kept herself busy by reading new proclamations from her father, writing down reminders that she needed to speak to the guild masters about new apprenticeship positions for the boys coming of age. Being in love with a tradesman, the Princess Anna was determined as part of her nobility standings to make sure her country's trades were as prosperous as they could be. Anna became a member of many of the trade guilds to make sure that they were getting the representation of the royal family and learning what could be done to help them.

 

* * *

 

 

Kristoff wiped away the grime of the foundry from his face. He hadn't heard from Anna in several days. Hadn’t seen her in nearly a month. Rumors in the village were that the princess was entertaining several suitors from surrounding kingdoms with the hopes that the young princess would choose their country to ally with. She wasn't free to follow her heart and he knew that she couldn't choose him but that didn't stop him from loving the redheaded, freckled princess. To deny his love for her would be committing treason to his own heart.

"Master, there is a girl from the castle here," Kristoff's young apprentice, Matthew said.

"Thank you, Matthew," Kristoff said, taking off the thick leather apron he was wearing. "Mind the forge."

To the unsuspecting person, Kristoff was a startling sight. The left side of his body was a mess of pits and grooves of healed burns. While his face received the least amount of damage, he was still left with facial scars that caused many to fear him. He shuddered to think back on the day of the accident. It has been three years since the accident and he still woke up in a sweat when the nightmares of it came to him. 

_The forge was burning hot that day. The smithy was preparing new axes for the lumber guild. Kristoff was preparing the ore for melting while, Matthew, Kristoff’s new apprentice was minding the blower, keeping the coals at the proper temperature. Unknown to both of them a flaw in the metal was beginning to crack. As the coals burned hotter the crack in the metal forge became unstable. Kristoff opened the door to the forge and there was a deafening boom as the forge exploded._

_Kristoff dove in front of the inferno, knocking Matthew out of the way, taking the brunt of the fire to the left side of his body. Matthew watched in horror, unable to move for what seemed like hours but it was only seconds. The thirteen year old boy got his wits about him and threw a blanket over his master, snuffing out the flames. Anguished screams from Kristoff would haunt Matthew’s nightmares for weeks afterwards. His master had warned him of burns and he knew Kristoff didn’t have time for him to calm down. He ran to the next merchant, the fishmonger. He gathered men to carry the big blacksmith to the apothecary’s shop, the only person in the village who could possibly help him._

_“Boy, run, do not walk, run to the palace, beg an audience with Her Grace Princess Anna,” the apothecary ordered. “Your master will not survive the night without the royal physician. Go now!”_

_Matthew didn’t have to be told a second time. He was out the door and running through the village at top speed, nearly crashing through the gate of the palace. The sentries guarding the palace nearly fired a crossbow bolt at the boy._

_“What ails you boy?” the guard shouted down to him._

_“I seek audience with Her Grace Princess Anna!” Matthew shouted. “My master, the blacksmith Kristoff Bjorgman, has been injured. He is severely burned.”_

_“Send for Her Grace at once!” the guard shouted. The gate opened and Matthew ran inside._

_Matthew had seen Her Grace many times. She was the one who got him his apprenticeship with Kristoff. He would be grateful to them both for the rest of his life. He bowed low to Anna but she waved him off._

_“How bad, Matthew?”_

_“The apothecary said Master won’t make it through the night with your assistance Your Grace,” Matthew said, his fear evident in his young voice. “Please Your Grace, he needs help.”_

_Without another word said, Anna ordered her carriage and for King Soren’s personal physician to join her. Once they arrived at the apothecary’s shop and he was examined, Dr. Sjostrom determined that Kristoff would heal but it would be a very long and painful process. Anna insisted that he be moved to a room in the palace where he could be looked after round the clock. The princess organized the team that would care for him and read everything she could find about burns and how to care for them._

_For the first few days Kristoff seemed to be doing fairly well. His bandaged left side wasn’t paining him and he seemed to be in good spirits. He asked about Matthew, more concerned that the boy was safe than he was for his own well being. By the fourth Kristoff’s demeanor began to change. He developed a fever and slipped into fitful sleep._

_Anna nursed him through the fever where he cried for a woman who had died years before. For his beloved mother. She did her best to keep her composure, to be the princess caring for an injured man. But her heart was breaking. If the fever didn't break by morning, she would lose him._

_"Don't you forget me, Kristoff," she whispered into his ear. "You fight. Come back to me.”_

Caroline, Anna's young maid, stood outside the smithy, her mistress's note in her hands. She had done this many times in the three years she had been employed to the princess. The large blacksmith came out and smiled at her. At first his scars were frightening to the girl but now she barely noticed them. Caroline never minded her trips to the smithy. Kristoff was a kind man and his apprentice Matthew was her sweetheart. The pair longed for the day when they would be allowed to wed. Kristoff came out of the workroom, his face covered in sweat and soot and smiled at the young maid. 

"Thank you Caroline," Kristoff said, taking the letter from the girl. He opened it and smiled at the words. He went over to his desk and scribbled out a hasty reply.

_My Princess,_

_I will be there. I long to see you as well._

_Yours,_

_Kristoff_

Along with the letter, he took a cutting from the mountain rose that was growing outside the smithy, the only greenery around the place. The roses had belonged to his mother and he cared for the plant as much as he did Anna. The red roses grew tall and lush in the late spring warmth. Anna had a hatbox in her wardrobe filled with the letters, dried roses and little trinkets he had made for her. They were more precious to her than all the jewels in her collection. For these were given freely from the heart. Given to her and not to the crown. Too often the gifts Anna received from suitors were to shower her with their wealth, to persuade the princess into making an alliance with their kingdoms. But Kristoff’s simple wooden carvings and metal work trinkets were made for her, to show how much he loved her. His Anna. 

 

* * *

 

 

"Ah, there you are my dearest," King Soren said, watching his daughter seemingly float into the main audience chamber of the castle. A tall red-haired man was standing next him, dressed in the cream and gold colors of the Southern Isles flag. "Annika, this is Lord Hans Westergaard, Viscount of Hagen. Viscount Hagen, this is the Princess Annika, my daughter.”

The nobleman bowed to the princess, offering his hand for hers. "I have heard tale of your beautiful daughter, Your Grace, but to see her in person is truly a delight," the young lord said. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Your Grace.”

"Thank you," Anna said, looking past the young lord and to her father. It wasn't the first time he had sprung a meeting like this on her, nor would it be the last. "Father, may I have use of the hansom this evening?"

"Whatever for, dearest?" the aging king asked.

"The children of the orphan's home are having a concert and I have been invited," Anna said, not lying but not telling the truth either.

"We'll discuss it dearest," King Soren said, patting her hand. “Viscount Hagen will be here for several months as the new ambassador of his country. He will be attending council meetings and going with us on tours of the kingdom."

"Yes Father," Anna said. She knew what this meant. Eventually, this Viscount Hagen would become the first choice suitor that Anna would be expected to court and eventually marry. Her father had always said that an alliance with the Southern Isles would be beneficial for the kingdom. While her heart belonged with the simple blacksmith in the village, she knew that she would have to do her duty to her king and to her country, breaking her own heart in the process.

King Soren hosted a lavish supper for the arrival of Viscount Hagen. Anna sat next to her father, faking her pleasantries with the visiting nobleman. She kept eying the large grandfather clock in the corner of the dining room. Time was inching closer and closer to nine o'clock and her meeting with Kristoff. She hadn't time to send him another message to tell him she was trapped. She couldn't abandon him. She'd gone too long without seeing him as it was.

"Father, may I be excused?" Anna asked, placing her hand on her father's wrist. "The children will be terribly upset if I miss their concert."

"Why on earth is the orphanage having a concert this late at night?" the Viscount questioned, sipping on his wine.

"It's for the older children," Anna said, not feeling like she should have to explain herself to this obnoxious newcomer to court. "Father, please?"

"Of course, my dearest," King Soren said, patting her hand. "Take Sven with you, as always."

"Thank you Father," Anna said, kissing her father on the cheek. "I will give them your love."

Anna left the dining hall and up to her apartments. She changed out of her finery and into a simple linen dress and her woolen cape. When she was with Kristoff, she was just Anna. She wasn't Her Royal Highness, Princess Annika of Arendelle, Heir to the Throne, she was just Anna. Her faithful bodyguard Sven was waiting for her at the stables. Her horse Olaf, a white and tan horse was hitched to her Hansom carriage.

"Where to, Your Grace?" Sven asked.

"You know where Sven," Anna said. "To him."

 

* * *

 

 

Kristoff waited in the shadows by the well near the edge of the village. The old well had dried up many years before and very few people came to this section of the village. It was the perfect meeting place for he and Anna. He held a single rose in his hand, keeping the burned side of his body hidden in the shadows. It still surprised him that Anna, as beautiful and vibrant as she was, loved him, him the grumpy, scarred blacksmith. After the accident he pushed her away, even though it was breaking his own heart. He loved her even then and thought the best thing for Anna was to find her prince who was whole.

_"You ARE a prince," Anna said, taking his scarred hand in hers. "You're my prince. And I don't want anyone else but you."_

_"Anna, you're seventeen years old," he said. “You deserve someone whole. You are the princess. I can’t ask you to leave all you know to live a pauper’s life. You deserve more than I can give you.”_

_"Then I don't want to be a princess anymore. I love you. I want you.”_

_“Anna, don’t say things like that. Leave me be and don’t come back.”_

_But she came back. Every day with food, fresh bandages, medicines both from the mountains and the apothecary. She refused to let him go and that only made him love her more. He couldn’t let go of her if he wanted to. She wouldn’t let him._

There he was, three years later, waiting in the shadows for her carriage to arrive. He always allowed her to arrive last and leave first. He never wanted her to be missing for too long. Missing princesses tend to lead to search parties and having the princess found with someone like him, never led to good things happening for the man found with the princess. The hoofbeats on the cobblestones lifted his head and smiled. She's here.

Sven stopped the carriage and stepped down to help his princess out of the cab. "With the nobleman at the castle, I would recommend a short visit, Your Grace," he whispered to Anna.

"Advised," Anna said, not taking her eyes off Kristoff's shadowy figure. "Signal in ten minutes."

"Yes Your Grace," Sven said, turning his back and resting against the back of the cab, giving the princess her privacy. He was honor bound to keep her secrets. The man had been watching over the young princess for ten years. Ten years of chasing after a headstrong child and stubborn young woman. He knew her better than she and did everything within his power to keep her safe. A knight of the highest order of the kingdom, Sir Sven Odinson would protect the crown even if it lead to his own peril. 

Anna took her skirt in her hands and ran to Kristoff, nearly leaping into his waiting arms. Three weeks since their last meeting and she was desperate to see him. Her lips found his and her arms wrapped around his neck. "I can't stand it anymore Kristoff. I'm going to tell Father the truth. That I love you and I want you to be by my side when I am crowned Queen of Arendelle."

"Anna," Kristoff breathed, holding her small frame to him. "My love, we've talked about this.” She stepped up on her tiptoes, kissing him. How perfectly she fit in his arms. She was made for him and nothing anyone could say or do would change his mind. She was it for him. 

"No, you've talked, Kristoff. You are the one I love. I don’t want anyone else.” She lovingly placed her hands on his face, her delicate fingers, feeling the pits and grooves of the scarred tissue of his face. She had decided on his title, Prince Kristoff, Lord of the North Mountain, Royal Consort. He deserved to be a prince, a king even. 

"And I love you but you're the princess. You have a duty to king and country. I won't let you throw away your birthright for me."

"Kristoff, I didn't come here tonight to fight with you. I miss you. I need you.”

His lips found hers, his arms wrapping around her holding her to him. He often dreamt of the day he could hold her as his own. To see her as she truly was. But for now, he’d settle for moonlit jaunts in the village, secret meetings at the lake in the mountains. Their time together was small but he could feel her love. 

“Caroline has asked to marry your apprentice,” Anna said, a smile on her face. “They are still too young only fourteen and sixteen, but I told her that when he completes his training and can afford a smithy of his own, or if you keep him on, they have my blessing to marry.”

“At least one of us can be with the girl he loves,” Kristoff said, kissing her temple. “I was planning on keeping Matthew on until he can save for his own smithy.”

“That’s good,” Anna said, resting, happily in his lap. “I wish we could go away together. Into the mountains.”

“I want that too Anna,” Kristoff said, kissing her temple. “In another life perhaps it could have happened. I had it all planned out once, my love. I built the cabin by the lake where we met. I have dreamed so many nights about bringing you there and making…”

“Making what?” Anna looked up at him, her blue eyes shining in the light. 

“Anna, the desires I have for you outnumber the stars in the heavens.” He took her hand and pointed to a constellation in the night sky. “That’s Cassiopeia, she’s only visible to us in the spring and summer months. Her mother Andromeda is here in the winter and fall months. They will always protect you and be there for you when the time comes that I can’t.” 

 

* * *

 

 

"Forgive my questions, Your Grace," Viscount Hagen said, pouring yet another glass of wine for King Soren and himself. "But there are rumors about that the Princess Annika has rejected every courtship that has been presented to her. That she refuses them and has been saying she has already chosen her suitor. A blacksmith in the village?"

"The princess has a soft spot for the man as he was the one who saved her life when she was but a child. It's a harmless infatuation. Annika will do her duty to her king and country when the time comes," King Soren said. "I am in good health and not so old. I don't worry about her taking on the mantle of the kingdom soon.”

"Wouldn't it be for the good of the kingdom, Your Grace, if the princess married sooner?"

"While I would love for Annika to be protected, I don't want to push her until she's ready.”

Viscount Hagen, being the youngest male of the Westergaard line, knew that he would never inherit. When he was fostered at his uncle’s home as a young boy he fell into the trap of dark magic. The young boy studied and read everything he could about magic and the dark arts. He knew that one day his powers would be used to get him what he truly wanted. A kingdom of his own. He became the master of the dark arts when he defeated his master in a duel and absorbed all his power. The Viscount Hagen was not to be trifled with as many in the Southern Isles soon became all to aware of. The handsome man used the power of persuasion to lead his victims to do his bidding. 

“Wouldn’t it be better for the good of Arendelle that the princess be married and providing the kingdom an heir?” Viscount Hagen asked, his silver tongue working the mind of the aging king. 

"I can't do that to her," King Soren said. "She has plenty of life to live before her birthright is thrust upon her."

"You will make the proclamation that the Princess Annika will be wed to me by the end of the month," Viscount Hagen said again, waving his hand. A greenish-blue light emitted from the nobleman's gloved hand and the traveled to Good King Soren. Soren's kind grey eyes turned black as the magic overtook him.

"A proclamation will be made," King Soren said, his voice halted and even. "The Princess Annika will marry by the end of the month."

"Very good, Your Grace.”

 

* * *

 

 

"My faithful subjects!" the herald of King Soren shouted from his perch in the village square. "Our Good King has an announcement that brings him great joy. Our beloved princess, Her Grace Princess Annika Celia will be wed to Lord Hans Westergaard, Viscount of Hagen of the Southern Isles at the light of the last moon of the month!"

Matthew, Kristoff's apprentice looked from his master to the herald. This was heartbreaking news. The young boy knew his master loved the princess. The boy knew the temper Kristoff had and made himself scarce. But the anger didn't come. He was too numb, too heartbroken to react to the news. He poured his disappointment into his work. Thoughts came to him. That had to be what had her so upset last night. She was trying to tell him and he wouldn't listen. How could she not tell him? He should have heard it from Anna. She should have told him.

 

* * *

 

 

"WHAT?!" Anna shouted. "No! Father, you promised me. You promised me that I could choose for myself." Anna knelt beside her father, taking his hands in hers. "Father, please. Don't make me do this."

"It's for the good of the country, dearest," King Soren said, the blackness of his eyes still there. "It is your duty."

"Father, we don't know anything about this man," Anna said. “Please, Father, delay this. Let our advisors and ambassadors give us a proper assessment of the match.”

"It's for the best. For the good of Arendelle, Annika.”

"But Father, I don't love him. I love Kristoff. I want to marry Kristoff. Please Father. We don't have to look to outside our country. A good man is already here. He loves me and you, dear Father. Please don’t make me do this.”

"You must do your duty to your country. You will marry Viscount Hagen and begin taking your role as Princess of Arendelle seriously."

"Father!" Anna looked into his eyes and saw the blackness there. "Something's wrong with your eyes, Father. Shall I call for your physician? 

"Everything's fine, my dearest. Rest is what I need. Please don’t fret my child. Everything will be for the good of Arendelle.”

Anna ran out of the throne room and out the main gates, tears blinding her eyes as she ran to the smithy. She had to tell him. She had to tell him the truth. She had to see him, make him understand. This wasn't her idea. She wanted him, not some random nobleman from some nowhere country. She passed Matthew near the fishmonger.

"Matthew!"

"Princess Annika!" the boy said, dropping down to one knee.

"Where is your master?" Anna asked, wiping away the tears.

"In the smithy, ma'am," Matthew said, keeping his eyes low. "He is very unhappy."

"I know. It's my fault."

She walked up to the smithy and looked inside. His face was smeared with soot and ash. His heavy leather apron covering his chest. His white linen shirt sticking to his back with sweat. He would never cease to take her breath away. How she loved him. The hammer in his hand clanging angrily against a piece of metal. Kristoff took a deep breath and a scent that stood out from the smoldering coal and ash. Anna.

"Come for a goodbye kiss?" he asked, his voice hard. He kept his back to her.

"Kristoff? Look at me," Anna said, her voice catching.

"Yes, Your Grace?" Kristoff said, turning around, his arms crossed over his chest, head bowed in submission. "How may I service the crown?"

"Stop it. This isn't you."

"You should have told me last night!” he shouted. “I shouldn't had to hear about your engagement from the royal herald. But that's just like royalty. Step all over the common people."

"Kristoff..." Anna couldn't even finish her sentence she was trying too hard to keep from crying. "I had no idea. Something's wrong. Father would never do this to me. And you know it!” Tears streamed down her face as she cried. "I love you. I want to be your wife. Not this viscount’s."

"But what you want doesn't matter to the crown. Anna, it breaks my heart, but you have to. I won't let you throw away your birthright for me."

"Don't you love me enough to fight for me?"

"You know I do! But Anna, to love you, to make you my wife, is treason against the crown. Soren would have my head."

"Hold me. Kristoff please."

Seeing her so distressed and in pain, he felt horrible for doubting her. Had she known about this last night, she would have told him. He set his tools and apron aside and took her into his arms. "Oh my princess. Forgive me? I love you."

"I won't do it," Anna said. "I won't marry him. I won't betray you."

"Anna, you must. For the good of Arendelle. You can't go against Soren. Not for me. I’m not worth it.”

“Yes you are! You are worth everything to me! I love you, my heart, body and soul belong to you. I want you to be my husband. You, Kristoff Adam Bjorgman.”

"What can I possibly offer the crown? This pathetic little smithy? That scrap of land above the treeline? You deserve so much more than I could ever give you."

"I'd rather live with you here in the smithy than the Queen's apartments at the palace," Anna said, placing her hand on his scarred face. "I don't care where we are as I long as I am with you, Kristoff. That's all I want. All I ever wanted. Don't you want that too?"

Kristoff was quiet. He wanted that with every fiber of his being. He wanted nothing more than to abscond with Anna into the mountains that had been his home for so long and live off the land for the rest of their lives. Had they been born of different circumstances that is what he would do. But that's not their lives. She is destined to be queen and he will have to watch her from the sidelines.


	3. Tradesmen Guild Meeting

Far Longer Than Forever 

 

Chapter 2: Tradesmen Guild Meeting

 

“Your Grace, would you care to join me on a carriage ride through the kingdom?” Lord Hans Westergaard, Viscount of Hagen, asked a mere three afternoons after their engagement was announced. Three days of wooing her, attempting to tame her. He had tried nearly everything to get the young princess to come around to the idea of marrying him. Everything but use his magic on her. In fact, it seemed she was immune to his masculine charms. Her pure heart, devotion to her people (and love for that peasant blacksmith) made her stubbornly immune to his machinations.

“I can’t today Viscount Hagen,” Anna said, looking up from her book. “I have meetings all day that I cannot miss.”

Frustration was the top emotion Viscount Hagen felt with the princess. While she was beautiful, she wasn’t what he would have liked her to be. He expected a spoiled, pampered slip of a girl, not an intelligent, strong willed, socially-inclined princess. Those vapid, weak willed, self-centered strumpets he knew how to handle: Tell them how pretty they are, compliment their clothes and jewels, recite bad poetry. But this princess? He had no idea how to charm someone who refused to be flattered. 

“May I join you for your meetings, Your Grace?” he asked, taking a seat next to her desk. “I would enjoy seeing you practice your queenly role.”

“You want to sit in on the negotiations between the fishermen and the fish sellers?” Anna asked primly, barely masking her disdain. “Surely a man of your eminence has better things to do with his time?”

“Surely the princess and heir apparent shouldn’t have to mediate between mere merchants and suppliers?” Viscount Hagen countered. “It is beneath you. Have a council member attend.”

“I oversee the trade guilds,” Anna explained, "as well as the merchants. A country is only as strong as its people.”

“The people should trust the crown to know what’s best for them and obey. What’s the use of a monarchy if the rabble can have say?”

“Father takes pride in his countrymen being competent in their trades, and honorable enough to stand up and inform the Crown when and where we can do better for them,” Anna said, forcing her temper down. “My father is wise enough to realize that if our people prosper, so does the Crown. I intend to heed his wisdom and rule in the same fashion.”

Anna glared at the Viscount over the notes she had taken at the last meeting. “I have no use for someone who looks down on the ones who keep the country running. If you have a problem with my people, Viscount Hagen, you can get on the next available ship back to the Southern Isles. Excuse me.”

She stood up and didn’t bother to wait for the customary bow that was due her as the heir and crown princess of Arendelle. Anna couldn’t stand to be in his presence another moment. Her loyal bodyguard Sven kept his hand on his dagger and his eyes on the young noble whenever he was alone in the presence of his princess. The seasoned knight of His Grace had little to no trust for this overly-polished nobleman who just appeared in their court, no matter how much the King now fawned over him. There was something that rubbed the rugged knight the wrong way. Sven followed his princess out of her study and down to the village for her meetings. 

“I don’t trust that man alone with you, Your Grace,” Sven said, walking just behind Anna. “I don’t like it at all.”

“I don’t either, but until Father’s well enough to terminate this whole idiotic affair we shall have to endure,” Anna said. “Father has never been ill a day in life. There’s something strange going on.”

“As you say, your Grace. But I don’t have to like it.”

“Nor do I, Sven. Nor do I,” Anna sighed. “I miss him.”

“I know, little one,” Sven said, a slight smile on his weathered face. Him. That’s how Anna referred to her blacksmith. “It’s too dangerous with that man in the palace to make any unnecessary trips to the village.”

“At least he’ll be at today’s trade guild meeting.”

Sven opened the large door to the audience chamber where the leaders of the tradesmen were waiting for their princess. They all stood up and bowed as she entered the room. The men remained standing until the princess took her seat at the round table. She hated that Kristoff took the seat farthest from her. She wished she could order him to sit beside her but she knew that it would arouse suspicions. She wanted him next to her. She wanted to be able to hold his hand while the others argued prices and regulations. And these men she had gathered, how they loved to argue. The meeting would last all day, if they had anything to say about it. Anna didn’t mind, anything to keep her away from that Viscount Hagen.

“Gentlemen, thank you of coming,” Anna said, smiling at the tradesmen. “Please be seated. We have much to discuss this morning. Harbormaster Hernas, you have the floor first.”

“Thank you, your Grace,” the harbormaster said, standing. “The fishing this spring has been poor. Unless the fish return, we may have to shut down.”

“We can’t have that,” Anna said, making a note in her ledger. “Master Hernas, send your sailors to the Eastern seas. I’ve heard word that there is good fishing there. If the catch can’t keep up with the demand for fish, we may resort to recommissioning your ships to better serve the crown and the people of Arendelle.”

“Yes, your Grace,” Master Hernas said, bowing to his princess and taking his seat. 

“We could use the ships to deliver the cotton and wheat to the neighboring kingdoms, your Grace,” the agriculture master said. “Our own ships are in desperate need of repair.”

“The sailors not fishing or running trade routes should be prioritizing their time and skills to repairing these ships,” Anna said, looking at the harbormaster. “Not wasting away idly at the pubs and Madame Ilsa's.”

“Of course, your Grace,” the harbormaster said, his head bowed. The blush on his face was a good indicator that he had no idea the high-born lady knew about the brothel on the harbor. “I will get on that straightaway.” 

“Master Bjorgman,” Anna said, looking up at Kristoff. “Have you begun to oversee the rearming of the palace guards? King Soren put in the order a month ago.”

“I haven’t Your Grace, not yet,” Kristoff said, standing yet keeping his eyes down. He knew he couldn’t look at her without his desire pouring out. He had to watch himself very closely when he was in her presence, to keep his feelings in check. To ruin her reputation or worse, put her in danger, would be more than he could bear. “I had to repair my forge. I wouldn’t want to have another accident.”

Anna nodded, hiding her own feelings. She hated to think back on his accident. It broke her heart to think of him when he was in pain and feverish. “Yes, we wouldn’t want that to happen again. Please stay so I can give you the order.”

“Yes, your Grace,” Kristoff said with a bow. 

The meeting continued, the silk merchant nearly coming to blows with the tailor. Anna handled it all with the grace and diplomacy that her father taught her. “Gentlemen, honestly. Master Otterstrom,” she pinned the silk merchant with a steely glare. “If I discover that you are in fact overcharging for your goods, you’ll have me to answer to. And I don’t take kindly to anyone taking advantage of my people.”

“Yes, your Grace,” he bowed nervously. 

Kristoff closed his eyes and listened, a faint smile on his scarred face. It never ceased to amaze him that in all the years that he has been a member of the trade guild that the little princess was able to make this gaggle of hard-nosed businessmen do what she wanted with little more than a look and a stern word. She never spoke down to them, yet she never let them fool her. She truly respected her people, and treated honorably with them. It was one of the many reasons he loved her so.

The meeting adjourned and the gentlemen all stood and bowed to their princess before taking their leave. Kristoff remained standing, his arms folded, head bowed, the scarred side of his body illuminated by the setting sun coming through the large windows. 

Sven nodded to his princess and stepped outside the door, closing it softly behind him. He’d signal if they had spent too much time alone or if Viscount Hagen came looking for her.

“I’m glad you came,” Anna said softly.

“I shouldn’t have,” Kristoff replied gruffly, then let his arms drop to his sides. “But I couldn’t stay away.”

“I hate this,” Anna said, wrapping her arms around his waist, her head resting on his chest. “I want this to end. Why can’t this be different?” 

“Because you’re the princess, and you love your father. We both do, that’s why we won’t go against his wishes.” He wrapped her in his arms, resting his chin on her head. “I want the best for you, Anna.”

“I would,” Anna whispered. “I would, for you.”

“No, Anna, you mustn’t.”

“But why not?!” Anna cried. “I will be Queen no matter who I marry, so why can’t I marry for love? I don’t love that petty foreign jerk! I love you, Kristoff!”

“The fates are against us this time, my love,” Kristoff sighed. “No matter what happens, Anna, you have my heart. No one can tell me I can’t love you. Not anymore,” Kristoff said, lifting her delicate chin up to meet his eyes. “I love you, Princess Annika Celia. For far longer than forever.” He used her full name. He hadn’t in years. Something was wrong. 

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her softly. To Anna it felt like a goodbye kiss. She pulled away, tears stinging in her eyes. “Why? Why are you doing this?”

“It’s for the best. Anna, please,” Kristoff said, resting his chin on her head. “If you love me, let me go.”

“How can you say that?! I can’t! I won’t! I am yours, and you are mine! Kristoff, please!”

There were three sharp raps on the door to the council chambers. Anna pulled away from Kristoff and hastily wiped away the tears in her eyes. 

“Your Grace, the Viscount Hagen to see you,” Sven said, opening the door and following the nobleman into the chamber where Anna and Kristoff were. 

“Dearest,” Viscount Hagen said, holding out his hand for her to take. “Shall you accompany me on a drive along the seaside road?”

“I am not your ‘dearest’,” Anna snapped at the nobleman. “I shall be along shortly. I must finish my business with the blacksmith.”

“Do hurry,” Viscount Hagen said. “I don’t want to miss the sunset.”

Kristoff got a good look at the man who was stealing her from him. The nobleman was slender and tall, composed and cold. He had that air about him that told Kristoff he hadn’t worked a day in his life, and looked down at anyone who had. While a handsome man, there was something about this Viscount Hagen that he just couldn’t trust. And by the way Sven, Anna’s bodyguard was acting, he knew it wasn’t just him. 

Viscount Hagen looked at Kristoff in disgust. The man was hideously burned. This is the low-born commoner who supposedly won the heart of the princess? Viscount Hagen looked back to Anna and barely contained a sneer. 

“Come along, Anna,” Viscount Hagen said, offering his arm to the princess. 

“You are far too informal with Her Royal Highness, your lordship,” Sven said, his voice low, almost in a growl. 

“Apologies, your Grace,” the nobleman said. “Shall we go?”

“Master Bjorgman, please excuse me,” Anna said, trying to control her emotions. “Sven, please be sure to see Master Bjorgman back to the village.” 

“I can find my own way, Your Grace. Sven’s place is with you.” And with that Kristoff gave Anna a final bow and left the council chambers.

That was the last time he saw her. 

* * *

 

Anna awoke, groggy, cold, and alone. She wasn’t sure where she was or how she got there. _Where am I? What happened? Think, Anna!_ The last thing she remembered was riding along the seaside road in the carriage with that ass of a Viscount, looking out at the setting sun instead of his hated countenance. As the orange disk sank below the horizon, the sea looked like blood. But then the orange glow of the sunset turned a sickly green. That unclean light surrounded her, and she fell from the carriage.  _He tried to kill me. Viscount Hagen did this to me. I have to get home and tell Father._

 

She put her hands up to her face and let out a scream, only it wasn’t a scream. It came out more like a squeak or the whining of a strange creature. What’s worse, her hands weren’t hands but paws covered in red fur the exact shade of her hair. She ran her ‘paws’ over her head and found soft rounded ears, a snub-pointed nose, and long whiskers. She looked down and instead of her gown her long body was covered in that same reddish fur, and she had a black-tipped tail! She tried to speak and it only came out in whines. She wasn’t human, she was sure of that. Not anymore.

 

_Oh this is bad,_  Anna thought.  _How am I going to get out of this? I have to get home, to Father. He can fix this. Oh no, Kristoff._ Anna’s thoughts went to the two most important men in her life. She couldn't allow them to believe she was missing or dead. It would surely kill them both. Something she was now sure was Viscount Hagen’s intention all along. Anna knew she had to find her way home and soon. She didn’t know what she was, couldn’t understand how she got to be like this, but she had to get home. 

* * *

 

“Come quickly! The Viscount has been injured!” a palace guard yelled, dragging in a bloodied and wounded Viscount Hagen. 

“Where’s Anna?” Sven demanded. “Where is the princess?” He grabbed the nobleman but the jacket and shook him hard. “You took her without me, and now she’s gone! What have you done to Princess Annika?!”

“She fell,” Viscount Hagen coughed. “We were on the seaside road, riding out to see the sunset. The horses spooked and took off down the road.” He looked up at the large man in his face. “I tried to save her but she fell. The sea has her now. 

“You lie!” Sven raged, shaking the nobleman. “What have you done with Princess Anna?”

“You dare put your hands on your better?” Viscount Hagen said calmly, staring at the knight. “You overstep yourself.” 

“Search the cliffs!” Sven ordered. “She’s out there, I know it!”

A call to arms was sent out throughout the city. Every able-bodied man was to report to search for the princess. Men and women alike turned out in droves, for the princess was much beloved by her people. Kristoff ordered Matthew to mind the smithy and he was out the door and found Sven, the only man in Anna’s company who knew about him and the young princess. 

“Where is she?” Kristoff asked, terror and concern in his voice. “What happened?”

“She fell,” Sven said, grabbing Kristoff’s arm. “Viscount Hagen claims she fell into the seas.”

“I will find her,” Kristoff said. He took off running, Sven hot on his heels. “I will find her.”

“Master Bjorgman wait, I’m coming with you.”

* * *

 

Anna wasn’t sure if she was walking or crawling. All she knew was that she needed to go downhill if she wanted to get home. She didn’t know what she was and she was sure it had to be magic. But instead of wandering towards home, she found herself going deeper into the woods. 

_Ew, dirt, mud_ , Anna thought.  _I can’t wait to get home and get clean. I think there’s a bug on me. There has to be a bug on me. This is horrible. What am I? Where am I? Oh why did I fight with Kristoff? I wish he was here. He’s looking for me. He has to be looking for me. I have to find him and tell him. I have to make things right._

She lost her footing and tumbled into a mud puddle. She groaned and started to cry or at least that’s what she thought she was doing. She had to get home and figure out of to become a princess again and not a whatever she was. 

* * *

 

“We have to turn back, Master Bjorgman! There’s a storm coming!”

“NO!” Kristoff screamed. “She can’t be dead Sven! She’s out there. Somewhere, alone. I have to find her.”

“Kristoff,” Sven said, taking the big blacksmith by the shoulders. “I can’t tell you to stop looking for her. I know in my heart that she’s out there too. Don’t give up. I will help you in any way that I can.”

“I will find her. And bring that so-called noble jackass responsible for this to justice.”  _I will find you Anna. I will find you and never let you go again. I swear it. Come back to me._

 

 


	4. Auburn

Far Longer Than Forever

Chapter 3: Auburn

* * *

 

The spring rains came the day the kingdom of Arendelle mourned the loss of Princess Annika Celia, Heir to the Arendelle throne. Kristoff stood in the streets with the other citizens of the city as the processional wound its way through the city streets to the ancient ground where the kings and queens of old were laid to rest. King Soren, heartbroken and unable to make and decisions left Anna’s services in the hands of Viscount Hagen. The mass honoring the princess was standing room only. It killed Kristoff to be there, because to him, she wasn’t dead. He knew it in his heart. She wasn’t gone. She was somewhere warm and safe, waiting for him to come for her. 

Matthew held Caroline in his arms, letting her cry for her lost mistress. With no lady to wait on, the ladies maid would be forced from the palace. Any reminder of the Princess Anna was to be removed from the palace to ease King Soren in his grief. Caroline and Gerda, packed up all of Anna’s clothes and jewels and hid them in the deepest corners of the palace. They, like Kristoff, did not believe she was gone. 

The coffin carried by the royal guards passed by where Kristoff, Caroline and Matthew were standing. Kristoff’s face showed no emotion, he didn’t dare. Inside his anger was churning. His guilt. His cowardice. He was a coward. He wouldn’t fight for her when she was here and now, she’s lost to him. 

Kristoff stood in the rain, holding a single red mountain rose in his hand. Hundreds of tributes lay on the ground in front of Anna’s stone. Candles doused by the rain, parchments declaring words of love devotion to the princess. He laid his red rose on the top of the stone, hastily cut. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. 

* * *

 

“Where are you, Anna?” he said to the rain. “Let me know you’re okay. Please, my love. Please don’t really be gone. I won’t be able to survive.”

In the thicket by the graves, a red sable (a subspecies of the marten) was watching the big man. Tears dripped down its face and it squeaked at the man, crawling out from under the thicket. It came right up to Kristoff and rubbed against his legs, much like a cat would to get its master’s attention. 

It startled him and he nearly stepped on it. His jerky movements didn’t deter the sable. It began to purr and tried to climb him. Kristoff had never seen one so tame, so willing to come up to a human. The poor thing had to have once belonged to a noble to be this tame. The sable allowed Kristoff to pet it and rub its ears. It was strange for a sable to have bright blue eyes. A sense of comfort came over Kristoff as he touched the sable. 

_It’s me Kristoff! Please understand me! It’s me, it’s Anna. My love, please know me. Help me!_

“You shouldn’t be here,” Kristoff said, rubbing the sable under its chin. “Some hunter might get the wrong idea about you and want to make you into a stole for his lady.”

_Oh you big dummy!_  Anna thought. She wished she could tell him. Make him understand. _I’m here. I’m right here. Just open your big brown eyes and see me._

Kristoff walked carefully back into the thicket, Anna on his shoulder. “You should hide in here until nightfall. Find your way back to your burrow and don’t come back out here. It’s not safe for a beautiful sable like you.” The sable rubbed her head under Kristoff’s chin. He didn’t want to let her go but there was no way he could keep a sable in the smithy. It wouldn’t be safe for either of them. “Take care of yourself.” 

She wanted to bite him. Make him see that it was her. Anna wished whatever magic made her into a sable gave her the ability to speak. It had been weeks and she still had no idea how this happened to her or how to break it.  _Kristoff, please. How do I make him realize that it’s me?_

Kristoff watched the sable disappear into the thicket. He turned back to the headstone, his fingers tracing the poorly carved letters of her name. “Anna my love, if you can hear me, I will find you.”

_You already found me! I’m right here! Kristoff, I’m here. I’m right here._

“I love you Anna. I will always love you.”

* * *

 

“Your Grace, I think it would be for the best if we dismissed the late princess’s household staff,” Viscount Hagen said to King Soren about a week after Anna’s services. “There’s no need to keep the expense of a staff for someone who is no longer there.”

“Whatever you think is right Viscount,” King Soren said, staring out of the window. His heartbreak left him weak and easily manipulated. “She didn’t tell me she was leaving. That’s not like her. When she returns I will have to speak to her about that.”

“Your Grace, Annika isn’t coming back,” Viscount Hagen said, compassion not in his nature, he tried to sound comforting. “She fell into the sea.”

“When she returns she and I will talk,” King Soren said, his black eyes and dull expression staring out over the fjords. “When she returns.”

* * *

 

Caroline was crying. Being dismissed from the palace with only half her wages, she had no idea what she was going to do. Her mistress was gone and she had nowhere to go now. She’d have to leave Arendelle and go back to her home in the south. Away from Matthew and the life they could have had together. Back to her small village and back to her family’s tailor and seamstress shop, to break her fingers making lace. 

She walked through the village to the smithy. She had to say goodbye to Matthew. Caroline had to join the caravan south by nightfall. If they were blessed, she and Matthew could have the afternoon together before she had to leave. 

“I’ve sent Matthew on a delivery,” Kristoff said, when Caroline arrived at the smithy. “You look very unhappy.”

“Viscount Hagen dismissed my lady’s staff,” Caroline said, staring at her feet. “I have to go back to Vauxhall. I have to leave on the caravan tonight.”

Kristoff steeled at the sound of that man’s name. He wouldn’t allow his young apprentice, a boy he looked at like his own son, to have his heart shattered as his had been. He placed a loving hand on her shoulder. “Stay here. I may have a way to help.”

He took off into the village and started at Madam Elaine’s, the milliner. He wiped off the grime from his hands before entering her shop. Her young daughter, Lisbeth was at the counter, arranging a vase of feathers. 

“Little Bit, where is Madame?” Kristoff asked. 

“Stop calling me Little Bit Master Bjorgman,” Lisbeth said, scrunching her nose up at him. “I am seven years old now.”

“Compared to me, you will always be Little Bit,” he said, giving the girl a smile. “Where’s Mama?” 

“In her office,” Lisbeth said. 

He nodded to her, reaching into his pocket, hoping he had something of value to give the little girl. All he had was a worn penny. “Go get something sweet for yourself.” She grinned and rushed out the door. Kristoff knocked on the door to Elaine’s office door and waited to be granted entrance. 

“How can I help you Master Bjorgman?” Madame Elaine asked. 

“Anna’s maid, Caroline, has been dismissed from the palace,” Kristoff said. 

“You speak so informally of the late Princess Annika,” Elaine said, looking over her half-moon spectacles on her nose. “Is there something you need to get off your chest?”

“Stop it Elaine,” Kristoff said, looking down at his feet. “You know. You know my feelings for her and you know as well as I do that she’s not dead. She’s out there somewhere and I am going to find her.”

“What can I do for Caroline?”

“I need to find her employment and boarding so she can stay here in Arendelle. If not she’ll have to back to Vauxhall.”

“Why do you care if a little spit of a girl has to return her home?”

“Because Matthew loves her.”

Elaine smiled and took off her spectacles. “So there is a beating heart under all that grime. Tell Caroline that she can come work for me. I know her skill with a needle. She can work and live with Lisbeth and I.”

“Thank you Elaine. You are a goddess among mortals.”

“Get out of my shop before you stain all my fabrics.”

“I owe you one,” Kristoff said. 

“It is I who owe you, Master Bjorgman,” Madam Elaine said. 

Elaine’s late husband had been a miner from the North Mountain Clan. A cave in at the mine had killed several men, Amos among them. Amos was Kristoff’s cousin on his mother’s side and he did what he could to help Elaine and Lisbeth stay on their feet. At times, having the ear of the princess had it’s advantages. Anna intervened on Elaine’s behalf with the money lender who held the mortgage on Elaine’s shop and home and made sure she was given a fair repayment schedule. 

He got back to the smithy to find his apprentice consoling his betrothed. “I’m sure Master will come up with something to help us, my love,” Matthew said, holding the crying Caroline on his lap. “I know he seems grumpy but he’s a good man. He’ll help us.”

“Of course I will,” Kristoff said, stepping inside. “Caroline, do you know Madam Elaine Abramsen?” 

“Yes. Mistress used to her all her hats from her,” Caroline said, wiping away the tears from her eyes. 

“She as agreed to take you on as her shop assistant. You will live with her and her daughter Lisbeth,” Kristoff said, smiling at the girl. “You’ll be comfortable there.”

Caroline’s tears turned to smiles and she jumped up and threw her arms around the big blacksmith. “Thank you Master Bjorgman! Thank you.”

“Anna would have done the same,” Kristoff said with a smile. 

Anna smiled as she watched the three of them from a perch in the smithy. The last month as a sable, she had learned how to climb and at least kind of act like a sable. She slipped out of the smithy and made her way back to the palace. In the last month she was trying to figure out ways to get back into her home and try to find a way to change back into a human. The magic on her was strong and she wasn’t sure if there was a counter to the spell like there was in the storybooks she read as a child. The summer was approaching and it was getting harder to stay hidden. 

Anna made her home in a hollow tree very close to the royal burial ground. There she was sure to see Kristoff when he came to bring her a rose. Once he was gone she would take his rose and put it with the others in her tree. Throughout her journeys to and from the city Anna always noticed a great snowy owl. The beautiful white bird seemed to always be near. At first Anna was afraid that the owl would attack her but the owl seemed to only be watching her. 

It was a few nights later when something both strange and wonderful happened. Anna was trying to sleep, she was worried about her father. The owl hooting and clapping at her. Anna squeaked her frustration at the large bird, but it didn’t stop. The owl began pecking at Anna, annoying her to no end. The owl spread its wings and flew up taking Anna in its talons and together they flew over the countryside until they came to the clearing and the lake where Kristoff had saved her life so many years ago. The owl set her down gently in the last of the winter’s snow. 

It always amazed Anna that there was always snow in this part of Arendelle. It was Kristoff’s favorite place. Far enough away from the capital and the people but still close enough that he could be there if his princess needed him. He spent the last two summers with Matthew sawing logs to build a fine cabin near the lake. It was warm and cozy and she had only seen it twice. It was too risky to come up there together but when they were here, it was magical. 

The great owl spread her wings again and in a swirl of light and feathers she transformed into a tall woman with shining silver hair that trailed the ground. Her robes were of white and silver silk, dotted with the stars of the sky. Her kind gray eyes shone with the light of ages past.

“Come to me Princess,” she said, kneeling and opening her arms for the red sable. Afraid but trusting, Anna crawled into her arms and felt a warmth that had been missing for months. “I am Theodora, a guardian, child of Andromeda. I am so sorry this has happened to you.” Theodora held Anna to her chest, and she shuddered. “This magic, is dark. How did a pure heart encounter such darkness?” She held Anna to her, absorbing the darkness, purging it from the young woman. “I cannot undo this magic, Princess. But I can change it. No longer will the effects be permanent. By the light of the stars of my mother and sister, Andromeda and Cassiopeia in this place, built on love, you will return to your true form.” 

The clouds cleared and the stars of the constellation of Cassiopeia appeared in the night sky. Anna felt a warmth fill her body, the snow and the spring flowers swirled around her. She felt herself stand on two legs, the fur on her body retreating into her body and she breathed freely. Kristoff. I’m coming back to you my love. 

“There are limitations to this magic now, Princess Anna,” Theodora said, taking her hands. “The transformation will only last while the stars are visible in this clearing. When the Midnight Sun is here, there can be no change.”

Midnight Sun. The summer months when the sun barely sets is usually when all the festivals and parades are held. The people love the summer months because they can enjoy the sun before it vanishes for months in the winter. Could she really handle not being able to be herself for the summer months. 

“I understand,” Anna said. “How did this even happen?”

“Hans. He has much darkness about him. He managed to stay hidden from us for very long. He has to be stopped.”

“But how?” Anna asked. 

“Dark magic can only be defeated by true love of the purest heart. A vow of everlasting love and it must be proven to the world.” 

* * *

 

“I think I am going to call you Auburn,” Kristoff said, to Anna when she cuddled on his lap late one night in the smithy. “I don’t know how it’s possible but you remind me so much of Anna.”

Anna had spent the day curled at the feet of her father in his chambers, unwilling to leave him even for the smallest of a moment. Gone was the strong leader of her people. Nothing was helping him. That same black deadness was in his eyes. He seemed to perk up when the red sable came into the room. No one knew where the animal came from and most of Soren’s staff didn’t have the heart to take the animal away. Sven was nearly bit when he tried. The ferocity in which the sable protected the king reminded him of the young princess. 

_I am Anna_ , she thought as she nuzzled Kristoff’s burnt cheek.  _Please my love. Please know me._

“Anna would have loved you,” he said, lying back on his bed, staring through a hole in the thatch work of his roof. “I wish I knew if she was okay. If she’s warm and safe.”

_I am. I am here with you, Kristoff._

“Why do you seem so sad, Auburn?” Kristoff said, adjusting the sable so he could look into the animal’s oddly blue eyes. “You must have had a family. Someone who loved you. I’m poor company but you’re welcome to the smithy. Mind the forge, it can get very hot.” 

He fell asleep and Anna curled up by his neck, her soft fur comforting to the scarred and pitted skin. She began to purr as she fell asleep, close to the man she loved. Soon she would be able to bring him to the clearing. The stars would come out and she would be whole again. She would hold him, kiss him and together they would find a way to break the curse. With Kristoff and Theodora’s help, Anna would take back her kingdom, save her father and vanquish the evil Viscount for good.


	5. Of Smoke and Light

Far Longer Than Forever

 

Chapter 4: Of Smoke and Light

 

Auburn wasn’t in the smithy when Kristoff awoke the next morning. That was unusual. For the good majority of the summer months the sable had been curled up right there next to him when he went to sleep and woke up in the morning. He missed his little friend. It was a comfort for him to have the sable there; he felt less alone. There was something about the little sable that made him happy, almost as if Anna sent the animal to soothe him.

Anna left Kristoff, half-heartedly, in the early morning to spend the day with her father. King Soren’s health was declining and Anna was worried that the Midnight Sun would last too long for her to be able to help him. She hid along the walls of the palace, listening where she could, gathering information to try and help him. She knew there was something about Viscount Hagen that was off. She slipped into his chambers and hid in a suit of armor and listened to the viscount mumble and plan alone.

“That old man is holding on to a ghost,” Viscount Hagen muttered. “The princess is dead. The Spell worked. I saw her fall. She couldn’t have survived. I’d know if she wasn’t dead. But what if…” He stopped speaking and conjured an ancient text to him.

Anna blinked, shocked to see the Viscount using magic. It certainly explained a lot: the King’s insistence that she marry him, the way her usually fiercely independent people suddenly fawning all over the foreign usurper, maybe even her own predicament. But what was in that book? Anna needed to move from the armor to see what he was reading. Carefully and silently as she had learned to be, Anna slipped down the leg of the armor and out the foot. Scurrying along the wall she slipped behind Viscount Hagen and climbed the bookcase without being spotted.

Viscount Hagen flipped furiously through the pages of the text, mumbling something to himself. Anna remembered hearing them before. It was the last thing she heard from him before she fell from the carriage. He stopped and looked at the page.

“NO! I can’t believe this!” he roared. “I said it wrong! That girl is supposed to be dead, not free and running about as a woodland creature!” He flung the text across the room and slammed his fists onto the table. “If she comes back…No. I’ll find her first. That scarred brute of a blacksmith is still pining for her. I’ll just use him to find her.”

Kristoff will never help you. I dare you to go to the smithy. I dare you to look into the eyes of my love and ask him to help you find me. I dare you. And how I hope to be there when Kristoff throws you out of his smithy. Right into a pile of manure.

Anna waited in the viscount’s chambers for a good five minutes before climbing down and nudging at the large book, to find what spell he was talking about. But the words changed from the common writing to something spidery she couldn’t read. She growled, glaring at the door. He had to be stopped. She scratched at the papers, getting them to turn until she found something she could understand. It was a drawing of a ring, a ring like the one she had seen on Viscount Hagen’s hand when she first met him. Maybe that ring had something to do with his power. She made a mental note to speak to Theodora about it when she saw her again.

* * *

 

Kristoff didn’t see Auburn again for the rest of the day. He did his work, checked in on Caroline at Madame Elaine’s, and wandered the market in search of something different than dried elk, bread and cheese for his evening meal. While he was in his room, he noticed a box that Auburn had knocked over in her adventures through his home. Inside was something he hadn’t seen in years.

It was a medal from the palace. A token of Anna’s gratitude when he saved her life in the mountain lake all those years ago. He had put it away so it wouldn’t get damaged. The gold star was tarnished and needed cleaning. He found an clean rag and began to polish away the grime and buildup. His name became clear first.

_“Please excuse the intrusion,” Anna said, shyly entering the smithy for the first time. She looked smaller to Kristoff, if that was even possible. “I wanted to give you something to show you my thanks for saving my life.”_

_“Um, you didn’t have to, Princess Annika.”_

_“Please, Kristoff, call me Anna. And I know I didn’t have to, I wanted to. Besides, I’m the princess, so you can’t tell me what to do.”_

_“Ok, Anna,” Kristoff couldn’t help but smile at the grinning girl. She certainly didn’t behave like other nobles did around commoners like him._

_She held out a flat box to the teenage Kristoff. “I had the jeweler make you an official Medal of Bravery for services above the call of an Arendelle citizen, or something. I don’t remember what Papa said it was supposed to be. But I made it for you and you can’t give it back.”_

_She smiled up at the larger boy, all giddy and apprehensive at the same time. “Do you like it?”_

_“Thank you, Anna,” Kristoff said. “I shall treasure it always.”_

“Some treasuring. Leaving it in a box to get tarnished,” Kristoff muttered cleaning it. “I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve her. But I _will_ find you, Anna. I swear it.”

The sun was finally setting. It was the last day of Midnight Sun. The stars would finally be out, and that gave Kristoff such comfort. He remembered what he told Anna the last time they were at the lake together, and smiled sadly. So long as he could see the stars, he would be connected to Anna. They would look out for her until he could find her again.

Tonight. The first night she could be herself. Theodora was very clear. She had to be in the clearing when the stars came out. But she would turn back into a sable regardless of where she was when the stars left the night sky. She had to get Kristoff to his cabin that night. She couldn’t wait another night. She wanted to be held by him as herself, not as a sable.

With dusk approaching she had to act fast. She slipped into the smithy and saw him sitting on the edge of his bed, polishing the medal. “Auburn,” he smiled. “I missed you today.”

She chittered at him, standing at the door, twitching her tail. _Come on, Kristoff! Follow me!_

He sighed, looking down at the medal cradled in his large hands.

She didn’t have time for this. She jumped up and snatched the medal from him, running out of the smithy.

“Auburn!? No, stop! You give that back! Auburn!” Kristoff shouted, chasing after the sable.

Anna ran through the city and out the gates. She wasn’t sure if he was following her but she knew he wouldn’t stop looking for her until he got the medal back. Hopefully she would transform just as he got to her. He had to see it with his own eyes or he’d never believe it.

He chased after the sable. Every so often it would stop and look back, the setting sun glinting off the medal in its mouth. It was like she wanted him to follow her. Curious, he followed her. She ran into the woods up the mountain side. The sun was setting, and the stars would be out soon. She could hear him crunching through the underbrush and through the trees.

“Auburn! Come back! Please, that was Anna’s,” he called to her. “Just give it back, please. Auburn!”

They raced through the trees and to the clearing by the lake. Kristoff stopped to catch his breath. “Wait, this is… How did you know about this place, Auburn?” The darkening sky was full of clouds, and it didn’t look like they would be passing on anytime soon. Anna muttered to herself which only sounded like angry chittering from the sable.

Thank you Theodora for attaching my curse to the weather! Please help me. He’s here and I have to transform in front of him or he’ll never believe it. Please, my guardian star, please. Help me. I can’t do this without you.

Kristoff looked at the sable; it seemed to be crying. He slowly approached the animal, hoping to convince it to drop the medal. A sudden gust of wind swirled across the lake, and the clouds scudded away. The stars stood out brightly in the fading twilight, but Kristoff’s attention was focused on the medal in Auburn’s paws.

Suddenly a bright light overtook the sable. Smoke, fluttering leaves and flowers surrounded the animal, swirling and pulsating with a kind of fairy light. Kristoff stood, mesmerized at the sight before him. He always knew the mountains were filled with strange magic; his mother had told him that over and over when he was a child. The sable cowered in the eye of this storm, and when the light was gone _she_ was there.

“Anna?” Kristoff gasped

“Hello Kristoff,” Anna said. “Hello my love.”

“Anna? It was you? You’re Auburn? It was you the whole time?” He ran to her and took her into his arms, spinning her around. “You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Yes, my love,” she burrowed into his embrace, hugging him fiercely.

“I thought I lost you,” he breathed into her hair, trembling. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Oh my love, I tried, but I couldn’t. And the Midnight Sun held the curse in place and kept the transformation from happening,” she kissed him hard, wrapping her arms around his neck, never wanting to let go or be put down. “I have missed you _so much_! Even though I was with you, these last few months have been torture.”

“Only Sven believed me,” he whispered, covering her in kisses. “I knew you weren’t dead. I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

“Thank you for never giving up on me.”

“How did you, how are you, why are you a sable?”

“I don’t remember much, but I do know it was the Viscount Hagen. He placed a spell on me, and it turned me into a sable. I’m only human now because our stars shine on your lake: Cassiopeia in the spring, Andromeda in the fall and winter.” Anna was quiet for a moment. “You told me once that they’d protect me when you couldn’t, and they have. Your love is helping to fight off this curse.”

He held her tightly, wishing he could do more. “Come with me, we’ll put that Viscount to rights. Free you of this curse and take back your home.”

“I can’t, Kristoff. Once the stars no longer shine on this lake I’ll turn back into a sable. And unless I am at the lake when the stars come out, I won’t turn back.”

“I don’t care,” Kristoff said, holding her to his chest. “You can still live in the smithy until we can break this curse.” He stroked her auburn-colored hair. “How we do that?”

“You have to make a vow of everlasting love,” Anna whispered, leaning into his touch.

“I do, my love,” he cupped her cheek and gazed lovingly into her sky-blue eyes. “I’m only sorry I didn’t make it sooner.”

“And prove your love to the world. The vow has to be made freely and publicly.”

“To do so would mean defying the King. I may be arrested, or worse.”

Anna looked down. She couldn’t ask him to do that for her. She’s already taken so much from him.

“I’ll do it. Freely and gladly. I love you, Anna, and there’s no magic on this earth strong enough to ever make that change.”

“But it could cost you your life!”

“You _are_ my life, Anna.”

“But--"

“Will it break the spell?”

“I think so. I don’t know,” she sighed, frustrated. She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with love and longing. “Just hold me, please? I need you.”

He swept her into his arms and carried her to the other side of the lake where his cabin was. He didn’t bother with the door; he just kicked it open. Anna had never been here in the time she had known him. She knew of it, but it was too risky for them to be there together. He set her down in the center of the room, lovingly tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

“I’m going to get a fire going, Anna,” he said, kissing her again. He looked at her apprehensively, afraid she was going to vanish at any moment. “Please be you when I get back. Please.”

“Until the stars leave the night sky I will be human, my love,” Anna said. “But dawn is coming. Please hurry.”

He kept wood stockpiled in case he needed it during his hunting trips in the fall. He chopped a fresh pile and quickly carried it inside the cabin. Anna felt fidgety, so she found candles and lit them around the room. She discarded the dress she wore, the one she had to wear that fateful day with that monstrous viscount. She didn’t want anything to do with _him_ anymore, so she was glad to be rid of it. She stood at the end of his bed, hair loose and glowing in the firelight in nothing more than her corset and bloomers, smiling shyly at him. He dropped the firewood on his foot, cursing under his breath.

“I, um, I can’t get my corset off without help,” she said, looking down at her feet.

“Forget the fire,” Kristoff muttered, tossing the rest of the firewood aside. He gathered her into his arms. “You are so beautiful. I’ve missed you so much, Anna.”

Anna buried her face in his neck, breathing him in. “Kristoff…”

“Remember what I told you, the last time I saw you? I said that if you loved me, you’d let me go. I was wrong…”

“It doesn’t matter now. Love me. Show me.”

“But Princess…”

“I’m not a princess tonight. I’m just Anna, a girl, here with you. Love me, Kristoff. Please?”

He rested his forehead against hers, trembling. “I want to. I want you, but…”

She silenced him with a soft, needy kiss. “Kristoff, if there’s one thing I’ve learned these last few months, it’s that Arendelle doesn’t need a treacherous outsider. It needs someone from within. Someone honest, steadfast, and true. Arendelle needs you. I need you.” She kissed him again, felt him melt into her embrace. “Please, my love. My true prince. I don’t know how much time we have before dawn. Please love me.”

He nodded, then brought his hands up to cup her face and kissed her slowly, passionately. He turned her around in his arms, kissing the back of her neck, trailing his hands down her back. Slowly he pulled at the laces of her corset, loosening the tight garment. It fell to the floor, and she shivered at the loss. She returned the favor, turning in his arms and pulling at the sash he wore for a belt, tugging his sweater over his head. The homespun linen undershirt clung to his body, the sweat he worked up chopping the wood giving him a delightful scent. He pulled his shirt off, the scars from his accident on display for her to see.

It had been years since she had seen his scars. She had dressed them daily when they were still angry red and raw, but this was the first time she has seen them healed. She lightly traced her fingers over the pitted skin, not repulsed or afraid like some people were. They were a part of him and she loved him.

“I remember the accident,” Anna whispered. “I thought I was going to lose you. I loved you even then.”

“You made me promise that I wouldn’t leave until you allowed it, and you swore you would never allow it.” He placed one of his massive hands over her slender one, bringing her fingertips up for his kiss. “Such a bossy young lady you were. Are. Yes, are.”

She kissed down his chest, loving every inch of him. His hands, calloused from years of working the forge, ghosted over the smooth lines of her back, making her shudder and moan softly. His fingers traced the edge of her ribs, circling down to her waist and then up to tease her breasts. Anna needed him. She took his hands and slowly laid back on the bed, pulling him with her. Her red hair fell behind her like a halo. To Kristoff she was and will always be perfect. His perfect princess.

“I love you Annika,” he whispered, his hardness pressing against her leg. “Don’t leave me again.”

“Never,” she vowed, lifting her hips up to meet his, to welcome him home.

He kissed her temple, trembling with the weight of years of pent-up longing. “Are you sure?”

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life, Kristoff. You are my one and only. I want you to be the only man who ever touches me. I am yours and you are mine.” Anna pulled him down for a hard kiss, wrapping her legs around his. “I am yours, and I will be yours, for far longer than forever.”

Kristoff slowly, gently filled her, pulling her into his lap so he could hold her and never let go. They moved together, Anna laid her head on his shoulder, resting the soft skin of her face against the roughness of his scars. He held Anna close, letting her roll her hips onto him, allowing her to set the pace and depth of their lovemaking. He branded every inch of her skin he could reach with hot, open-mouthed kisses.

“I love you,” Kristoff whispered huskily into her hear. “My Princess Annika Celia, my love, my life.”

They came together, each crying out the other’s name before collapsing into the tangled linens on his bed. Kristoff gathered her into his arms, cocooning her in a tender embrace. He didn’t want to let her go. Didn’t want sleep to take him, only to wake alone in the smithy and learn this had all been nothing but a dream.

They always adored the long summer days, but both of them inwardly cursed when they saw the first hints of dawn staining the eastern sky. “It’s almost time,” she breathed sadly. His arms tightened around her, refusing to let go.

She very reluctantly slid out of his embrace and stood. She looked down in distaste at the pile of her clothes, expensive, too rich for the humble cabin. “I had to wear this with _him_. I hate this dress,” she muttered.

“I may have something more to your liking,” Kristoff said, rising and walking over to a large trunk and pulling out a long, sleeveless shift of gossamer-light linen.

“How did you get this?” Anna asked, taking it when he offered it to her.

“Gerda and Caroline. The King, or maybe the Viscount, got rid of most of your day-to-day stuff. Gerda couldn’t bear to see it destroyed, so Caroline brought it to me. I brought it here because, well,” and he looked down, blushing.

“Because why?” she asked, her voice barely muffled by the gown sliding over her head.

“Because in my dreams you are here with me, in this house of ours, living and loving together forever.”

He felt her warm palm against his stubbled cheek and he opened his eyes, looking down into the most brilliant blue eyes in the kingdom. “That’s a beautiful dream, Kristoff,” Anna breathed, pulling him down for a gentle kiss. “I know because I have had the same dream.”

She shivered in his arms, and he plucked his sweater off of the floor for her. “Here, put this on for now.” He started pulling on his own clothes. “I’ll talk to Gerda, see if I can get a hold of some of your winter clothes.” He tied on his sash and turned to see his princess dwarfed by his sweater. She looked so tiny, so delicate, but he knew her strength and determination were like a force of nature. He not only loved her, he believed in her.

He took a step toward her, aching to hold her again, but that same smoky fairy light swirled around her, and in a flash she was gone. His sweater fell to the floor, and a little lump fluttered around in it until a little auburn-furred head popped out of the neck of his sweater. She looked so silly he couldn’t help but laugh. “Silly Auburn.” He knelt down and offered his hand to her. “I love you. This won’t last forever.”

She crawled up his arm and curled around his neck, purring softly. Her purrs softly turned to little snores. Kristoff walked carefully around the cabin snuffing out the candles and made a list of things they would need for the cabin for the winter months. His first mission, getting Anna’s things there. Keeping her safe was his number one priority. Anna needed him to be there. To save her. And this time, he wouldn’t let her down.  


	6. The Hunting Party

**Far Longer Than Forever**

**Chapter Five: The Hunting Party**

* * *

 

 

Anna sat on her father’s shoulders, purring against him. Good King Soren was wasting away before her very eyes. She did her best to help him but there wasn’t much she could do as a sable. She didn’t dare try to sneak into the palace as a human because she would be spotted and surely Viscount Hagen would have her killed. At least Kristoff knew she was alive. And that was everything. Seeing him every day throughout the summer, as miserable and grumpy he was without her was killing her. 

The previous night played over and over in her mind. He was there for her. He took nothing and only gave. She could still feel the rough calloused hands on her body. The feel of his mouth on her breasts. The largeness of his manhood inside her. She longed to wake up next to him as herself, cuddled next to him, his arms tight around her. It was a dream that would have to wait. 

No one seemed to question the red sable perched on King Soren’s shoulders when they came into the room. Most of the servants discerned that the animal was a gift from a diplomat from one of King Soren’s many journeys abroad. Gerda having moved to serving the king with Anna missing, took to leaving small plates of food for the sable. There was something about the animal that made her feel warm inside, like the young princess used to. 

 _Don’t worry Gerda_ , Anna thought looking at her old nanny.  _Soon I will be home and all will be well again. You’ll see._

“Your Grace, please eat something,” Gerda pleaded with the king. “You’ll be no good to us if you succumb to this. Princess Annika is going to come back to us and it would break her heart to see you this way.”

_Oh it does, Gerda. It breaks my heart every day to see Father waste away to nothing. We have to help him._

“Where is Annika?” King Soren asked, his voice weak and frail. Not like his true voice. His true voice commanding and authoritative. A voice that commands legions and yet soft enough to soothe a crying child to sleep. 

“Remember, Your Grace,” Gerda said softly. “Annika was lost to us. But we haven’t given up hope. She will be found.”

“Annika…” King Soren whispered falling into a restless sleep. Anna nuzzled her father’s cheek, licking him softly. She wanted to cry. Her beloved father reduced to wasting away in grief. 

_I will save you Father. I will break this curse and I will save you from Viscount Hagen’s control. I promise._

* * *

Viscount Hagen and his retinue arrived outside Kristoff’s smithy. He wasn’t at the smithy but over at Elaine’s getting things to take up to the cabin for Anna when she becomes human again. It killed him to not be able to tell young Caroline that Anna was alive. If anyone deserved to know that Anna was alive and well it was Caroline. The young girl adored Anna and would be overjoyed that she was alive. But with the Viscount’s spies all around the village it wasn’t worth the risk. 

“Boy! Where is your master?” Viscount Hagen barked at Matthew. 

Startled the boy dropped the wood he was carrying from behind the smithy. He bowed to the nobleman, keeping his head low. Too many serving boys had been greeted with the back of the Viscount’s hand for little more than lifting their eyes too soon. 

“Master Bjorgman is away from the smithy, my lord,” Matthew said, keeping his eyes down. “He shall return soon. How may I assist you, my lord?”

Annoyed to be dealing with an apprentice and not the man he was looking for, Hans was ready to explode. But as he was in the public eye and he hadn’t the opportunity to be in the public eye that much, stayed his temper. Gripping the hilt of his sword he, smiled at the boy. 

“How long will your master be away?” Viscount Hagen asked. 

“I do not know my lord,” Matthew said, his back beginning to strain from the angle of his bow. “I can assist my lord in whatever his desires may be.”

“I doubt you can lead me and my men through the forests and the mountains on a hunting expedition,” Viscount Hagen said. “Have you any refreshments for us?”

“Just fresh cool water, my lord,” Matthew said, wishing Kristoff would hurry and return. Knowing they didn’t have anything that the nobleman would want Matthew stood very still keeping his eyes down. Kristoff came around the corner carrying the brown paper parcel of things for Anna. The large group around his smithy wasn’t what he wanted to deal with at that moment. He wanted to get out of the city and be up to his cabin before the sun went down. He wasn’t sure if he’d see Anna that night but he had to be there in case she was there. He never wanted her to transform alone. 

“Matthew, go stoke the forge.” 

Thankful to get away from the nobleman and the guards, Matthew slipped back into the workroom of the smithy and began his normal tasks. Kristoff crossed his big arms over his broad chest and looked the slim nobleman up and down. He did not bow nor extend any form of courtly etiquette that was befitting a man of Viscount Hagen’s stature. 

“How can I help you my lord Viscount Hagen?” Kristoff asked. 

“I have been told that you are a master hunter and tracker,” Viscount Hagen said, annoyed that Kristoff hasn’t acknowledged him properly. “That you know the mountains of this land better than anyone in the city. I wish to retain you for a hunt my men and I are embarking on tomorrow.”

“As honored as I am to be chosen for such a venture, my lord, I have far too much work to finish before winter comes,” Kristoff said, politely blowing off the nobleman. The orphan’s home needed their boiler repaired. The elderly of the city relied on the programs that he and the others on Anna’s council ran in her absence. Far too many things to do and finish before the harsh winter winds blew into the valley. 

“I will make it well worth your lost time,” Viscount Hagen said, reaching for a small leather pouch. “At least a month’s lost wages here, good sir.”

“And what of the king’s men? They can’t have dull weapons.” 

“You have an apprentice, Master Smith. Surely he is up to so basic a task.”

“And risk the safety of the kingdom with unarmed men? Surely my lord viscount can see the error in leaving such a delicate task to a mere apprentice,” Kristoff replied, knowing full well that Matthew could forge swords and arrowheads in his sleep.

“Perhaps, but I’m more interested in your tracking skills than your smithing skills. I have reason to believe that Princess Annika may have survived and is being cared for somewhere in this land. Surely your devotion to the Princess compels you to search for answers?” Viscount Hagen said, staring at the much larger man. Hans wasn’t stupid. He knew that if Annika was alive, this man would be the one to know.

Kristoff froze at the mention of Anna. Swallowing, he spoke again, if only to throw the smug nobleman off Anna’s trail. "If Princess Annika wanted to be found, surely she would have sent word of her location by now. I can only hope, for the sake of King Soren, that wherever Princess Annika may be, she is safe and cared for.”

“It is King Soren that compels me to search for my fiancée, far more than for my own aching and lonely heart. His Majesty’s health is failing, and I fear he may not survive to see his daughter’s return, whatever’s keeping her away from her beloved people and family.”

“By your own admission so many months ago, Ann-Princess Annika was taken by the sea. I saw the waters. They were rough and unforgiving that day. She was never a strong swimmer,” Kristoff said, his deep memory recalling the day he saved her life and countless times in their brief courtship of her inability to swim.

“Have you given up on her? Will you deny your King, a dying man, peace of heart?”

 _Never. But you did, you smug, gutless bastard._  “King Soren will rest in peace when his kingdom remains secure. King Soren has been heartbroken since the day Queen Ingrid was stolen from him. The peace knowing Annika is safe in her mother’s arms again, will ease his suffering.”

"Bah! I grow weary of your insolence, peasant. You  _will_  come with us on the morrow, either as part of our royal search party as a tracker, or to the dungeons in chains as a traitor!”

“Peasant, I am not. Matthew, mind the smith as I am being ordered to search for our lost Princess,” Kristoff said, giving a polite yet insincere bow to the nobleman. He would bite his thumb at the viscount’s back at a later, less public moment. 

* * *

“You have to do what?!” Anna exclaimed, once they were alone in the cabin. Of course that was after they held each other tight, never neglecting the other as they had in the past. Too long they had been apart and Kristoff wasn’t going to let her transform back into Auburn without letting her know at every instant that she is the most important person in his life.   
  
“Lead Viscount Hagen and his guard through the forest looking for you,” Kristoff said, leading Anna to their bed to lie down. “He believes that you are alive and hiding somewhere close by. Sven is coming along at my insistence.”

“That’s good. And if you can discreetly let him in on our secret, please do so. We may need an extra ally in the castle when the time comes. Sven is a good man and I trust him with my life,” Anna said, pulling him to their bed. The warm fire casting glows and shadows on the walls. “I overheard him a few days ago. He knows I am alive but he thinks I am some woodland creature. He means to kill me.”

“I won’t let that happen. Remain at the castle or in the smithy. As long as you are not here at the lake when the stars are out you will remain a sable and he won’t catch you.”

“I don’t want to hide anymore, Kristoff. I want to kick that popinjay out of my kingdom and take back my people,” Anna said, her frustrations of being under the spell and unable to do anything about it. 

“I know my love but I have to keep you safe. If I had made my desires known from the start you wouldn’t have been in the carriage with him and we wouldn’t be here,” Kristoff said, holding her close. “We might but under different circumstances. When winter comes, I want to take you to the village, my village and perform a handfast.”

“What’s that?” Anna asked, loving the feel of his arms around her. She had longed to be in a similar position nearly her whole life. Her love for Kristoff was pure and real. 

“In my village when a man and woman wish to be married they preform a handfast. It’s our ceremony. It’s done under the stars with the whole village gathered to help celebrate.”

 _A vow of everlasting love and prove it to the world._  That’s what Theodora told Anna would break the spell. A wedding. A wedding would show the world that Kristoff was sure to never let anything happen to Anna ever again. 

While she was resting with her father that day, Anna had a dream. They were living in the castle, her father happy and healthy again. Her true prince on her arm, standing on the balcony of the castle introducing the people of Arendelle with their new heir. Her thoughts were jolted back to the present when she felt Kristoff’s mouth on her, his lips trailing down her body. 

“I’ve never seen your village,” Anna said. “You rarely talk about it.”

“After my parents were killed, it was hard to remain. I have family in the mountains but they are distant relations,” Kristoff said, smiling as she rested her head against his shoulder. “I trained with Master Oaken, saved your life and moved to the city and apprenticed with the old blacksmith. But to protect you, I will go back and marry you.”

“You’d do that? Go back to a place that brings you pain, for me?”

“I’d walk through fire again for you, Anna.” 

“When will we go?” Anna wanted Kristoff, and despaired that hewould never budge. That he would never understand that she loved him and everything else was nothing to her. He was all she wanted no matter what. Now they were together, not in the way she wanted but it was enough for now. 

“When I return from this fool’s errand,” Kristoff said. He rolled over her, smiling down at his betrothed. “Maybe I’ll lead him to a cliff and not tell him it’s a cliff.”

She was wearing nothing more than his long linen shirt. His clothing dwarfed her and he loved it. For so long he never felt like he deserved her. He a lowly commoner from the mountains and she the heir to the kingdom. For too long he denied his own heart. And now that they nearly lost each other, now that she was cursed, he finally gave in to what he always wanted and always felt he never deserved. He thought he was protecting her. He thought he was doing right by her. But it turns out it put her in even greater danger. And he’ll be damned by his own hand if he doesn’t do his best to protect her. To stand by her side as she reclaims her kingdom. To love her as she deserves to be loved. 

His hand slowly inching it’s way up to the hem of his homespun linen shirt, staring into her beautiful blue eyes. “I love you Annika,” he whispered. “May I touch you my love?”

“I have been longing for your touch all day,” Anna replied, watching his large frame cover her, his hands pulling his shirt down to reveal her breasts. 

Kristoff would never grow tired of Anna and her pure self. The part of her that only he got to see. No one else would hold her like this, rub her pleasure center like this, get her to make that sound that haunted him all day. Only him. Anna, his princess gave of herself to him freely. His mouth lowered on her exposed breast, Kristoff’s tongue swirling around the nub of flesh hardening in his mouth. 

A small moan escaped her lips and gave Kristoff cause to chuckle. He carefully filled her with his fingers, not taking his eyes off Anna for anything. In and out, her body shaking, shuddering as the passion filled her and took her to the stars. She cried out, gripping the linen of his bed in her hands. 

“Kristoff!” she cried out her hips jerking. 

“I’ve got you my princess, my Annika,” he said, pulling his hand from her. “I won’t let him find you.”

* * *

Morning came and she was returned to Auburn, curled up in the crook of his neck, purring softly in his ear. They had fallen asleep together, not wanting to part until the last possible moment and then not even then. Kristoff had to keep her safe. Safe from the traitorous viscount and his men. He packed away the clothing he kept in his cabin for her in case prying eyes saw something they shouldn’t. He had to be back in the city by the time Viscount Hagen and his men were ready to leave. He had to leave instructions for Matthew and while he knew Elaine and Little Bit would check on on him, he had make sure he had enough resources to make do without him for however long Kristoff would be gone. 

“Auburn,” Kristoff whispered. When she was human he called her by name, when she was changed, he called her Auburn, to protect her. “I have to go. I don’t know when I’ll be back. I left enough food, firewood and flint to keep you warm at night. I love you. I will return to you soon.”

He scratched her chin and smiled down at her sleepy face. She chitters at him and he can almost understand her. “I know. But he’s seen you on the shoulder of your father. You can’t come with me. You have to try to find a way to stop him from inside the castle. I won’t risk you. Check in on Matthew if you can.”

The little sable nods and chitters at him again. “I’ll be all right. Don’t worry about me. I can take care of myself.”

She crawls up his arm and rests on his shoulder. He closes up the cabin and they begin the trek back down to the city. The early morning light casts a calm over the city. The shops will be opening, the families waking up to start their days. This was Kristoff’s favorite time of day. Matthew would be up by now, stoking the forge and going over the list of tasks for the day. 

Matthew had been an orphan Anna dropped on him five years ago. Matthew had been with Kristoff before and after the accident. He was very much like a son to Kristoff. So much so he had put in a petition to the crown to formally adopt the boy and make him his heir. He had gotten the notice he was approved in the time that Anna had been missing. 

“Auburn, did you know that when we have our handfast, you’ll already be a mother?” Kristoff said. 

She chittered at him and gave him a funny look. “My adoption of Matthew. Sven delivered the news to me a few weeks after you were missing. We have a son.”

Auburn snuggled in against his chin, the chill of the morning causing her to shiver. “I know he can’t be your legitimate heir but he’s ours and will never have to worry.”

They arrived at the smithy and Anna went about her normal morning. She traveled into the castle through all the secret routes she used the summer months to find. She went right to her room and crawled up her desk. Hidden beneath a pile of papers from the last tradesman guild meeting she oversaw was a finished letter to the privy councilor of the queen of the Southern Isles, Her Majesty Louisa Jotunheim. The letter contained questions about Viscount Hagen, his role in court and his intentions towards the Arendelle court. She hated herself that she didn’t get it sent when she was human. The only thing she could think to do was to take the letter to Kristoff to give to Sven. Scurrying through the castle doing her best not to be seen. Because a sable carrying a roll of paper in its mouth is bound to be noticed. 

* * *

Roughly ten minutes after Kristoff arrived at the smithy, Viscount Hagen and his men, including Sven arrived. The vain nobleman was dressed like he was going to a summons to court, not a treacherous climb through the wilderness. It took all Kristoff had to not make faces at Sven and give away his stoic expression. 

“My lord,” Kristoff said, bowing not low enough for the viscount’s approval but enough to be proper. “Are you sure that is the attire you would like to have for this expeideiton? The mountain pass to the good hunting ground at this time of year can be quite dangerous. I would hate to see your lordship injured if your lace was caught on the brambles.”

The strutting peacock was wearing tight white pants better suited for a ball, lacy cuffs on his shirt, long feather plumes on his stupid hat.

“One should always look ones best when out among the people,” Viscount Hagen said, his nose in the air. 

Your funeral, Kristoff thought with a slight internal chuckle. He made a mental note to make sure to ride hard past him on the trail and get him muddy. “Don’t want to lose the daylight. Sir Sven and I will take the lead. You and your men can follow behind.”

Sven rode ahead of the viscount’s men and joined Kristoff. It felt great to Kristoff to boss around the viscount. He and Sven rode a good distance ahead of the rest of them, staying out of earshot. 

“Can you keep a straight face, no matter what I tell you?” Kristoff asked, looking down the road out of the city. 

“Yes,” Sven said. 

“I found her,” Kristoff said. “She’s alive.”

It took all Sven had to not shout for joy. He held tight to the reigns and kept looking straight ahead. “Is she safe? Have you seen her?”

“Very. I can’t tell you more but soon our troubles will be over and all will be right in Arendelle again.”

“Whatever your plan, I will be beside you both. My loyalty is to her and King Soren.”

Once into the woods they have to stop several times as Viscount Hagen’s ridiculous hat is caught in low hanging branches, his once pristine, pressed white pants are splashed in mud and the lace around the cuffs of his sleeves are tangled in the brambles, just as Kristoff predicted. 

“The pass is still really unstable from the summer,” Kristoff said to Sven. “Would anyone charge us with treason if we lead them into it and accidentally set off an avalanche?”

“Just a little one as to not mess up trade routes.”

“Maybe a mudslide?”

“And be haunted by his lordship’s ghost complaining about being dirty?”

The day drug on. What Kristoff had hoped was going to be a simple task of wandering around in the woods appeasing whatever impulses this nobleman had and be going home. But that was not the case. Before they even got a mile into the woods, Viscount Hagen and his men were beginning to make camp. 

“My lord,” Kristoff said, trying to not be annoyed and confrontational. It wouldn’t do Anna any good if he was in the dungeon for treason. “It is still many more hours to the hunting ground. We will be there way before nightfall.”

“My men need to rest,” Viscount Hagen said. “We will make camp here and continue on in the morning.” The way the viscount spoke sent shivers down Kristoff’s spine. 

“My lord, this is not a safe location to camp,” Kristoff argued. “You are paying me to guide you, let me do my job.”

“Master Bjorgman, my men are not used to such strenuous travel. We must rest.”

“You hear that howling? That’s the pack of wolves that live in this part of the forest. The alpha, born of Odin himself, does not take kindly to trespassers in his wood. We must move on.”

The men of the viscount shivered upon hearing the howling of the wolves. “My lord, maybe the blacksmith is right.”

Completely outnumbered, the viscount was overruled and the hunting party continued on. Kristoff watched as the sun sank lower and lower into the sky. It would be the first night since he found Anna again that he would not be there for her. He hoped she wouldn’t risk coming to the clearing without him there. They were far enough away but he still worried for her. 

_Stay safe my love. Stay safe and I will return to you soon._

 


	7. Fireside Visions

Far Longer Than Forever

Chapter 6: Fireside Visions

* * *

 

With the viscount and his men safely asleep inside their monstrous tent that took longer to set up than they’d be in camp, Sven and Kristoff sat in front of the fire, standing watch. Sven was staring into the flames, poking the embers with the point of his blade. Kristoff looked up at the stars, praying his beautiful Anna was safe inside the smithy with Matthew. He knew she wouldn’t try to go up to the clearing if she didn’t have to. It would be safer for her to remain as Auburn until he returned. Then they would go up to his village, perform the handfast and then take back Arendelle from Viscount Hagen. 

“I know you won’t tell me much,” Sven finally said. “But I have to know.”

“She is safe my friend,” Kristoff said. “A little changed but unharmed.”

“Why has she not come back? Why only come to you?”

“She has her reasons. It is better this way. Please my friend, trust us.”

“Apologize to her for me when you see her,” Sven said, after a moment. “Tell her that I won’t fail her again.”

“Sven, we both failed her. If I hadn’t been such a coward, we would have been wed and none of this would even be happening.”

“Kristoff, the last thing you are is a coward. She never saw you as one. Ever. You have always been her one and only.”

“The sooner I can get home to her the better.”

“This fool’s errand can’t take much longer. The game have traveled into the higher mountains for the winter.”

"He may just get cold enough and annoyed that they'll want to turn back." 

They sat staring at the fire in a comfortable silence. In the background they could hear the howling of the wolves. Kristoff shivers, wishing he could be home in his cabin with Anna wrapped around him. 

The next morning, Sven and Kristoff were ready when the sun rose. The viscount and his men, not so much. It was nearly mid-morning by the time the haughty nobleman rose, was bathed, dressed and fed. By the time the nobleman and his retuine were ready they had come back with two stags and a handful of rabbits and a lost duck. 

“Why didn’t you wait for us to join you?” Viscount Hagen asked. 

“If we had waited for you my lord, we would have missed the game,” Sven answered. “The stag only come down to the lowlands in the very early morning.”

“You should have told us that last night,” Viscount Hagen’s valet said. 

“We did,” Sven and Kristoff said together. 

“I must say, gentlemen,” Viscount Hagen said, warming his hands over the fire. “This is most unfortunate. I paid to be taken hunting not to be left at camp.”

“Well my lord,” Kristoff said, loading the stags into the wagon. “You must rise earlier. The game waits for no one. Not even noblemen.”

“I do not believe I like your tone, blacksmith.”

“I don’t like my time being wasted, Viscount.”

The two men stared at each other. Kristoff’s arms crossed over his broad chest, his scarred face, set in a hard line. “Now if you don’t mind, my lord, these beasts need to be dressed so the meat doesn’t spoil. There are many people in the village who will benefit from these beasts.”

Kristoff brushed past the nobleman and climbed into the wagon and drove it away. 

* * *

The hunting trip ended not long after Kristoff returned with Sven from dressing the stags. They managed to get one more which Kristoff didn’t mind, more meat for the orphanage, Anna would approve. They had to stay one more night as it was too dark to make the journey home. Of course the noble jackasses were annoyed but when the howling of the wolves started up and they relented. 

Kristoff stayed up minding the fire and dreaming about being home with Anna. Be it in the cabin away from everyone or by her side as she ruled Arendelle. One way or another he would never leave her on her own ever again. Poking the flames with Sven’s sword, his vision blurring to a vision of the future. 

_He could hear the giggling down the hall. It was getting louder as it got closer. He sets his book down as it will be pointless in a moment. Soon enough two beautiful little girls with light blonde-red hair came barreling into the library._

_“Daddy! Daddy!” they exclaimed jumping onto his lap. “Uncle Sven said he’s going to teach us archery!”_

_“Oh he did, did he?” Kristoff said, ruffling his daughter’s hair._

_“Yes! And Matthew and Caroline wrote to Mama and they are coming home soon! And Grandpapa said the new ponies would be ready to ride.”_

_“And where is the beautiful and amazing Mama?”_

_“Right here my loves,” Anna said, coming into the library. She had never looked more beautiful to him than she was at that moment. Heavy with their third child. While Kristoff prayed for a boy, he knew that no matter what, he’d love this new child all the same._

“What is on your mind, my friend?” Sven asked, sitting back on the log next to the blacksmith. 

“The future and all that it holds for the kingdom,” Kristoff answered, knocking a pebble into the fire. 

“Once she is found, all will be well again. You’ll see.”

 _It shall. For nothing will take her from me again._

 


	8. Of Avalanches and Homecomings

Far Longer Than Forever  
   
Chapter 7: Of Avalanches and Homecomings  
   
It was a long, cold march back to Arendelle. Kristoff and Sven hung to the rear of the hunting party, opting to stay with .the kill rather than be subjected to the mindless prattle of the viscount and his men. Kristoff wanted to get home to his son, to his princess and away from the idiocy that was the viscount.  
   
It had taken nearly the whole of the morning to get packed up. Then they only made it about three miles before it started to get dark and the viscount demanded they make camp again for the night. At this rate, Kristoff and Sven could have taken the meat to the orphanage and gotten back before the viscount had even made his tea. But they didn’t dare leave the nobleman alone in the woods. There was no telling what evils the Viscount would inflict upon the land if left to his own devices.  
   
“When you get back, what is your plan?” Sven asked.  
   
“Find a way for her to come back and take her rightful place,” Kristoff said. “And help her rid our land of that blasted Viscount.”  
   
“I will do what I can to help you both.” Sven vowed.  
   
“Master Blacksmith,” a guard of the viscount’s called riding closer to them.  
   
“What is it?” Kristoff replied, holding back his annoyance.  
   
“The pass has caved in. We cannot get through.”  
   
He cursed under his breath. “Make camp. We will have to turn further south and take the lower pass,” Kristoff said. “Sir Odinson and I will will ride ahead to scout the best route back to the city.”  
   
“You’re not going to leave us here?” the Viscount argued. “We are strangers in this land. Take one of my men.”  
   
“Sir Odinson and I know this land better than your men,” Kristoff said. “The path to the Southern Pass is treacherous, and we need to carefully cut a way through or the whole mountain may fall on our heads. If you wish to get back to the city alive, your grace, you will not interfere with my methods. Make your camp and be at the ready. It will not take us long to prepare a trail home.”  
   
Sven and Kristoff wheeled their mounts and headed south. “This trip is getting worse by the minute,” Sven said, once they were far enough away.  
   
“I never wanted to come in the first place. But the sooner we find the way home, the sooner I can get back to her.”  
   
“Is she in the city?”  
   
“The less you know the safer she’ll stay, my friend,” Kristoff said. “We will explain all once she is back where she belongs.”  
   
They rode in silence for several hours, cutting a trail south, setting off smaller avalanches to ensure a larger one didn’t bury them all. This route would take longer to get back to Arendelle, but it was safer than trying to cross the mountains to the north. At least in the south they had more game to hunt to keep themselves fed and possibly bring back. He wished he had thought to have Sven bring one of the falcons so they could send a message back to the castle.  
   
“If I may ask one more thing regarding her,” Sven said. “It would be this: Are you prepared to stand beside her for the rest of her days?”  
   
“Of course I am,” Kristoff said. “I always have, in my heart. I love her more than I love myself. She has loved me since before I was hurt. She’s been coaxing me to marry her for years.” Kristoff hung his head, “I should have listened to her. I should have done more for her when she was here. Before the Viscount sunk his claws into good King Soren. Now whatever I do, it just doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough.”  
   
“My friend, do not despair. Since she was but a child, she has always known two things: She would one day be queen, and that she would marry you. No other man has ever turned her head from those facts. And you know how stubborn our princess is.”  
   
Kristoff couldn’t help but smile at the thought.   
   
The morning light was rising over the mountains when Kristoff and Sven returned to the camp. They made it clear that they would rest then begin the journey back to the city and that they would not stop until nightfall.  
   
“Master Blacksmith,” Viscount Hagen said, folding his arms over his slender chest. “My men cannot be made to travel in this manner.”  
   
“Would you rather take yet another week to get back to the city?”  
   
“Of course not.”  
   
“Then we do not stop until it is dark. You, sir, chose a treacherous time of year for a hunt and I am trying to get back to the city without losing anyone. But I can’t do that if you constantly undermine my orders.”  
   
“You have no authority over me,” Viscount Hagen bristled.  
   
“Of the two of us, sir, which has intimate, first-hand knowledge of these mountains and the terrain? Who knows of each and every creature we could encounter? Because if you think you can get us down this mountain in one piece, by all means, my lord, go right ahead.”  
   
"What's to know?" the viscount scoffed. "Arendelle's that way. We head down the mountain, and kill anything that gets in our way.”  
   
"Have you ever seen what a grown bear can do to a man, your grace?” Kristoff asked.  
   
“No, but I have seen what a crossbow bolt can do.” The Viscount’s tone was ominous.  
   
“A crossbow would no more take down a bear than a fish hook would catch a whale,” Kristoff folded his arms across his chest. “And if that bolt is meant to kill me, your Grace, you doom yourself and your men to a slow death. We wait for the daylight.”  
   
“If I didn't know better, I'd say you're delaying us on purpose, blacksmith.”  
   
“I have a son and the King’s work to return to, your grace. It is you who is delaying us. You stop more often than is necessary. At the pace you make us travel it will likely be spring by the time we return to the city.”  
   
"First you say we must hurry, then you say we must be cautious, then you say hurry again. Do you enjoy being contrary, master blacksmith?"  
   
"No more than you, your grace.”  
   
“I am starting to wonder what kind of girl Princess Annika truly was to allow someone like you to gain such a high place of honor,” Viscount Hagen sneered. “Perhaps she’s more simple-minded than I had been led to believe.”  
   
Kristoff balled his fists, the glare and snarl on his already distorted and scarred face made him all the more frightening. “Princess Annika was the kindest, most caring woman you could ever know. You aren’t fit to polish her boots!”  
   
“How dare you speak to me in such a fashion!? I shall have you jailed for this! Don’t think your special arrangement with her is as secret as you might have led everyone to believe. I know about the meeting the night King Soren gave her to me. I shouldn’t even have been made to marry her. She is sullied, disgraced, and impure because of you.”  
   
Kristoff lunged for the nobleman, ready to run him through with his own sword. Sven, having heard the argument growing out of control, stepped in front of the blacksmith. Sven wasn’t protecting the nobleman, but saving his friend from himself. He spoke to Kristoff in the language of the people of the North Mountain clan. “You cannot save her if he has you hanged, my friend.”  
   
“It is he who deserves the hangman’s noose,” Kristoff muttered back.  
   
“I demand to know what it is you both are plotting,” Viscount Hagen shouted, drawing his sword. “You mean to have me murdered in these woods! That is why you are delaying the journey!”  
   
“Can’t have anything happen to you until our princess is returned to us,” Sven muttered, holding his arms out to keep Kristoff from charging the nobleman once more. “His words mean nothing. For your love is true and good.”  
   
“We are wasting time,” Kristoff said again, this time speaking the common tongue. He took his axe from his sled and stormed off into the woods. He angrily chopped at the trees, collecting firewood.  
   
“What were you two plotting, worm!” the viscount demanded. “My guards will use your entrails for bowstrings unless you answer me!”  
   
“We plot nothing, your grace, other than safe passage back to Arendelle,” Sven replied mildly. “The Master Blacksmith takes his service to the Crown very seriously, and the delays weigh on his already short temper.”  
   
“Foolishness!” Viscount Hagen scoffed and strode off towards his tent. This trip was not he had hoped to accomplish, and he knew the Blacksmith and that nagging chit’s lapdog were to blame. He threw his sword and sheath onto his cot and let out a scream.  
   
“Gods be damned! He knows where that little bitch is,” Viscount Hagen muttered to himself. “I should have found her by now.” He pulled off his gloves, the bluish glow emanating from his hands. He waved them, and a cloud appeared in front of him. “Find the Princess Annika. Find her and end her.”  
   
Light swirled around him as his magic took on an ominous, ethereal glow. Inside the cloud, images began to form. But all it showed the sorcerer was woods and more woods. The magic couldn’t find her. Hagen cured, then redoubled his efforts. But to no avail. No matter the anger and malice he poured into his spell, the protection of Theodora and the stars, from Kristoff’s love, would never give Anna away.  
 

* * *

  
   
They were cold, muddy, and miserable when they finally returned to the city. Tempers flared high, and it wouldn’t take much for someone to explode.  
   
“Take the meat back to the palace for the royal stores,” Viscount Hagen ordered.  
   
“This has already been allocated to the orphans’ home,” Kristoff said. “That is a standing order from his Majesty King Soren. All royal chartered hunts are to be given to the orphan home."  
   
“All royal orders are under review until further notice.”  
   
“Since when?”  
   
“Since I was put in charge of Arendelle. The kill will be taken to the royal stores.”  
   
“Since when were you put in charge of Arendelle?” Kristoff said sourly. “And without this meat, the children of the orphanage will starve, sir,” Kristoff added. “Princess Annika would not stand for this.”  
   
“Ah yes, the saintly Princess Annika. I wonder if the people would accept her if they knew about her evening frolics with the blacksmith. She is damaged and I should not have to be forced to marry an impure hussy.”  
   
“You go too far, sir,” Sven growled, his voice low, his hand at the ready to draw his sword.  
   
"Oh, and now the other hound jumps into the fray. I must say the Princess has quite the collection of mongrels serving her. Tell me, dogs, did you do more for your mistress than fetch her shoes? I wouldn't put it past the silly girl to sully herself with her pets. It's no wonder your King is so desperate for a true nobleman to save this kingdom from itself.”  
   
Before either the nobleman or Sven could react, Kristoff’s fist flew and squarely landed on the viscount’s jaw. He spun and fell back against the sled. Kristoff stood over the nobleman, his breath raspy as he held back his anger.  
   
“You sir, are a guest in this country. Start acting like it and keep your forked tongue behind your teeth as you know not of what you speak,” Kristoff growled.  
   
“I’ll see you hang for this insult!”  
   
“If that is your wish, your grace,” Kristoff scoffed. “Enjoy having no blacksmith within five hundred miles.”  
   
And with no other response, he lead the horses away with the full sled of dressed meat towards the orphan home.

* * *

  
   
“Father! You’re home!” Matthew exclaimed, seeing Kristoff enter the smithy. He’d started calling Kristoff father exclusively ever since his adoption was finalized. “Madame and Lisabeth were worried you had gotten lost.”  
   
“I can’t get lost in my home, son,” Kristoff replied, ruffling the boy’s head. “Where is Auburn?”  
   
“I have not seen the sable for many days, Sir. I think she may have gone to the castle.”  
   
“I’ve heard tell that she gives good King Soren some comfort. She’s a good little sable.”  
   
“Yes, sir.” Matthew handed a folded parchment he had found under Kristoff’s bed when he was tidying up after a day’s work. “I found this while you were away. It’s an old letter, and Madame says it looks like it was written by Princess Anna’s hand.”  
   
Kristoff turned it in his hand. No wax seal on it, which was odd. He unfolded it and held it up to the light to read.  
   
 _To the Courtier Council of the Southern Isles,  
   
Her royal highness, Princess Annika Celia of Arendelle, graciously requests letters of patent and any other documents that vouchsafe for the Lord Hans Westergaard, Viscount of Hagen. He has arrived in our country under unusual circumstances, and we do not know of him or his family. Please send a response as soon as you are able. My Lady fears his intentions within our sovereign nation may not be amicable, nor in the interests of either of our kingdoms.  
   
Sincerely,  
   
Caroline, Lady’s Maid to Her Grace Annika Celia, Crown Princess of Arendelle_  
   
It was definitely Anna’s hand, but why did she make it seem like it was written by Caroline? And why was it never sent?  All questions he could ask once she was back in his arms, safe in the cabin. He unpacked and checked over the work Matthew had been left with in his absence.  
   
“I see that Madame has kept her eye on you while I was away,” Kristoff said, seeing the basket with white lace cloth wrapped about a chuck of bread and cheese on the table.  
   
“She was worried that we hadn’t enough food stored,” Matthew said.  
   
“I’m glad she’s there to look after us,” Kristoff grinned at his son, then sighed. “I know I just returned, but I must go to the North Mountain tonight and I will not return for several days,” Kristoff said, gathering fresh clothes and supplies for he and Anna.  
   
“I understand, Father,” Matthew said. “I will mind the forge and keep up with the projects you need to complete. I can handle it.”  
   
“Of that I have no doubt. My concern is you working on my projects and not your own, my son. I know you save the coin from your projects to pay for your own smithy.”  
   
“About that,” Matthew looked down shyly. “My Caroline will want to stay close to the castle, to serve Princess Annika once she returns. Besides, if you keep getting orders like these last ones from King Soren, you may need a partner,” he grinned.  
   
Kristoff smiled best he could and placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. Matthew wasn’t so much a boy now as he was nearly seventeen. He had come to Kristoff a slight build boy, barely able to swing a hammer and now he was able to do all the work Kristoff did, and much of it better. Kristoff was proud of the boy, and glad his beloved forge was in such good hands so he could focus his energy on helping his love break her curse.  
   
 __

* * *

  
   
Kristoff carried everything they needed in a simple sack over one shoulder, while Auburn lay curled up on his other. He could barely contain himself as the sun sank lower and lower behind the mountains. Soon they would be at the lake and his cabin and he could hold her again.  
   
Auburn was chittering away in his ear, anxious to become human again so she could be held in his arms as herself. She didn’t want to know about his trip with the viscount. She only wanted to be with him.  
   
“I have to send a message to my family in the village,” Kristoff told her. “You can’t transform once you leave the lake, and there isn’t time to get you to the village before the sun rises.”  
   
They crested the hill to the lake just as the clouds parted to let the stars come out. Auburn jumped off his shoulder and ran towards the lake, the smoke and light enveloping her and transforming her back to her true self. Kristoff stood back, awed by the magic, eager for her to become his love again.  
   
Anna stretched, the white linen of her dress whispering around her. It felt so good to be back in her own skin again. She ran to Kristoff, launching her small frame into his arms, feeling him catch her and carry her towards their home. She had long since stopped calling the cabin his. It wasn’t just his anymore. It was never just his, by his own admission. Kristoff had built the place for them, for her. To be her home away from the castle. To be their place, if the fates saw fit to grant a poor orphan his wildest, most fondest of dreams. Their place to just be themselves, to love each other without the prying, judgmental eyes of the world trying to break them. Their place to love each other in, to become one. Just as he planned to do once they were safely inside.  
   
They were a frenzy of hand and lips, touching and kissing. Kristoff’s need for Anna was one of desperation and longing. He needed to be inside her and soon. There were no soft caresses, no slow removal of the clothing they wore. It was a quick pull of lacings, the shove of sashes and trousers, the lifting of skirts. It was her body pressed against the wall of the cabin, his mouth pressed to hers, his hardness finding its way to her center. Weeks since their last rendezvous made them both impatient, made their encounter short and frantic. After, they would take their time. Take the time to trace the lines of each other’s bodies, to relearn the grooves and pits of his skin, the sweetness of her curves. But this was carnal, this encounter was that of nearly a fortnight of pent up desire. The vision he had staring into the fire drove him. He wanted so much to prove his worth to her, to stand by her side as her husband, to see her grow with their child. To create life from their love.  
   
Anna wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, peppering his face with her kisses as he thrust into her. He tried to slow, to pull back to look at her, to watch her facial expressions as he gave her pleasure, but she was having none of it. Using her lithe legs, she hooked him about the hips and held him tight to her. Her need for him was just as great. She clung to him, drunk on his every groan, taking in every inch of his lust and pouring her own primal need into him. They came together; gasping, trembling. Holding the other tightly. He kissed her forehead, nose, each cheek, trailing his lips down her throat. He carried her over to their bed and laid her down, kissing the hollow between her breasts. Sweat dabbled his brow, catching in the ridges left by the scars of his accident. He kissed his way back up her body, then gazed into the endless pools of her blue eyes.  
   
"I love you, Anna," his voice ragged and uneven. "So much."  
   
“And I love you,” Anna whispered back. "Far longer than forever, my prince."  
 

* * *

  
   
While Anna was washing, Kristoff went to his stables where he kept his own falcon. He wrote out a note in the North Mountain language, in case his message was intercepted by someone loyal to the viscount. He explained the best he could and as much as he could to his aunt about Anna and what he wanted. Bulda would make it happen. She would bring just the right amount of people to make the handfast happen, and no more. And she would have them there by the full moon three days hence, even if she had to drag them by the ears. He rolled the parchment up as small as he could make it and put it in the bone tube attached to the falcon’s leg.  
   
“Fly, my friend,” Kristoff said. “Swift journey.” He watched the falcon fly off towards his former home. It would take a day or two for Bulda and his clan to get organized and come to the lake. In the meantime, he had a beautiful girl waiting for him in his soft bed. A girl with a plan to save her kingdom. A girl with a mind as cunning as her heart was kind. A girl he planned to love until the stars left the skies.


End file.
